Development to requirements for a procedures software tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yasutake, J.Y.; Hachiro Isoda

1993-01-01

In 1989, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the Central Research Institute of the Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI) in Japan initiated a joint research program to investigate various interventions to reduce personnel errors and inefficiencies in the maintenance of nuclear power plants. This program, consisting of several interrelated projects, was initiated because of the mutual recognition of the importance of the human element in the efficient and safe operation of utilities and the continuing need to enhance personnel performance to sustain plant safety and availability. This paper summarizes one of the projects, jointly funded by EPRI and CRIEPI, to analyze the requirements for, and prepare a functional description of, a procedures software tool (PST). The primary objective of this project was to develop a description of the features and functions of a software tool that would help procedure writers to improve the quality of maintenance and testing procedures, thereby enhancing the performance of both procedure writers and maintenance personnel

Techniques and tools for software qualification in KNICS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cha, Kyung H.; Lee, Yeong J.; Cheon, Se W.; Kim, Jang Y.; Lee, Jang S.; Kwon, Kee C.

2004-01-01

This paper describes techniques and tools for qualifying safety software in Korea Nuclear Instrumentation and Control System (KNICS). Safety software are developed and applied for a Reactor Protection System (RPS), an Engineered Safety Features and Component Control System (ESF-CCS), and a safety Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) in the KNICS. Requirements and design specifications of safety software are written by both natural language and formal specification languages. Statechart is used for formal specification of software of the ESF-CCS and the safety PLC while NuSCR is used for formal specification of them of the RPS. pSET (POSCON Software Engineering Tool) as a software development tool has been developed and utilized for the IEC61131-3 based PLC programming. The qualification of the safety software consists of software verification and validation (V and V) through software life cycle, software safety analysis, and software configuration management, software quality assurance, and COTS (Commercial-Off-The-Shelf) dedication. The criteria and requirements for qualifying the safety software have been established with them in Software Review Plan (SRP)/Branch Technical Positions (BTP)-14, IEEE Std. 7-4.3.2-1998, NUREG/CR-6463, IEEE Std. 1012-1998, and so on. Figure 1 summarizes qualification techniques and tools for the safety software

A Software Tool for Legal Drafting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Gorín

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Although many attempts at automated aids for legal drafting have been made, they were based on the construction of a new tool, completely from scratch. This is at least curious, considering that a strong parallelism can be established between a normative document and a software specification: both describe what an entity should or should not do, can or cannot do. In this article we compare normative documents and software specifications to find out their similarities and differences. The comparison shows that there are distinctive particularities, but they are restricted to a very specific subclass of normative propositions. The rest, we postulate, can be dealt with software tools. For such an enterprise the FormaLex tool set was devised: an LTL-based language and companion tools that utilize model checking to find out normative incoherences in regulations, contracts and other legal documents. A feature-rich case study is analyzed with the presented tools.

Workshop on Software Development Tools for Petascale Computing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vetter, Jeffrey [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)

2007-08-01

Petascale computing systems will soon be available to the DOE science community. Recent studies in the productivity of HPC platforms point to better software environments as a key enabler to science on these systems. To prepare for the deployment and productive use of these petascale platforms, the DOE science and general HPC community must have the software development tools, such as performance analyzers and debuggers that meet application requirements for scalability, functionality, reliability, and ease of use. In this report, we identify and prioritize the research opportunities in the area of software development tools for high performance computing. To facilitate this effort, DOE hosted a group of 55 leading international experts in this area at the Software Development Tools for PetaScale Computing (SDTPC) Workshop, which was held in Washington, D.C. on August 1 and 2, 2007. Software development tools serve as an important interface between the application teams and the target HPC architectures. Broadly speaking, these roles can be decomposed into three categories: performance tools, correctness tools, and development environments. Accordingly, this SDTPC report has four technical thrusts: performance tools, correctness tools, development environment infrastructures, and scalable tool infrastructures. The last thrust primarily targets tool developers per se, rather than end users. Finally, this report identifies non-technical strategic challenges that impact most tool development. The organizing committee emphasizes that many critical areas are outside the scope of this charter; these important areas include system software, compilers, and I/O.

Software tool for physics chart checks.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, H Harold; Wu, Yu; Yang, Deshan; Mutic, Sasa

2014-01-01

Physics chart check has long been a central quality assurance (QC) measure in radiation oncology. The purpose of this work is to describe a software tool that aims to accomplish simplification, standardization, automation, and forced functions in the process. Nationally recognized guidelines, including American College of Radiology and American Society for Radiation Oncology guidelines and technical standards, and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task Group reports were identified, studied, and summarized. Meanwhile, the reported events related to physics chart check service were analyzed using an event reporting and learning system. A number of shortfalls in the chart check process were identified. To address these problems, a software tool was designed and developed under Microsoft. Net in C# to hardwire as many components as possible at each stage of the process. The software consists of the following 4 independent modules: (1) chart check management; (2) pretreatment and during treatment chart check assistant; (3) posttreatment chart check assistant; and (4) quarterly peer-review management. The users were a large group of physicists in the author's radiation oncology clinic. During over 1 year of use the tool has proven very helpful in chart checking management, communication, documentation, and maintaining consistency. The software tool presented in this work aims to assist physicists at each stage of the physics chart check process. The software tool is potentially useful for any radiation oncology clinics that are either in the process of pursuing or maintaining the American College of Radiology accreditation.

Featureous: A Tool for Feature-Centric Analysis of Java Software

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olszak, Andrzej; Jørgensen, Bo Nørregaard

2010-01-01

Feature-centric comprehension of source code is necessary for incorporating user-requested modifications during software evolution and maintenance. However, such comprehension is difficult to achieve in case of large object-oriented programs due to the size, complexity, and implicit character...... of mappings between features and source code. To support programmers in overcoming these difficulties, we present a feature-centric analysis tool, Featureous. Our tool extends the NetBeans IDE with mechanisms for efficient location of feature implementations in legacy source code, and an extensive analysis...

Tools & training for more secure software

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2017-01-01

Just by fate of nature, software today is shipped out as “beta”, coming with vulnerabilities and weaknesses, which should already have been fixed at the programming stage. This presentation will show the consequences of suboptimal software, why good programming, thorough software design, and a proper software development process is imperative for the overall security of the Organization, and how a few simple tools and training are supposed to make CERN software more secure.

Software Development Methods and Tools: a New Zealand study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chris Phillips

2005-05-01

Full Text Available This study is a more detailed follow-up to a preliminary investigation of the practices of software engineers in New Zealand. The focus of this study is on the methods and tools used by software developers in their current organisation. The project involved detailed questionnaires being piloted and sent out to several hundred software developers. A central part of the research involved the identification of factors affecting the use and take-up of existing software development tools in the workplace. The full spectrum of tools from fully integrated I-CASE tools to individual software applications, such as drawing tools was investigated. This paper describes the project and presents the findings.

Criteria and tools for scientific software quality measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tseng, M Y [Previse Inc., Willowdale ON (Canada)

1995-12-01

Not all software used in the nuclear industry needs the rigorous formal verification, reliability testing and quality assessment that are being applied to safety critical software. Recently, however, there is increasing recognition that systematic and objective quality assessment of the scientific software used in design and safety analyses of nuclear facilities is necessary to support safety and licensing decisions. Because of the complexity and large size of these programs and the resource constraints faced by the AECB reviewer, it is desirable that appropriate automated tools are used wherever practical. To objectively assess the quality of software, a set of attributes of a software product by which its quality is described and evaluated must be established. These attributes must be relevant to the application domain of software under evaluation. To effectively assess the quality of software, metrics defining quantitative scale and method appropriate to determine the value of attributes need to be applied. To cost-effectively perform the evaluation, use of suitable automated tools is desirable. In this project, criteria for evaluating the quality of scientific software are presented; metrics for which those criteria can be evaluated are identified; a survey of automated tools to measure those metrics was conducted and the most appropriate tool (QA Fortran) was acquired; and the tool usage was demonstrated on three sample programs. (author) 5 refs.

Criteria and tools for scientific software quality measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tseng, M.Y.

1995-12-01

Not all software used in the nuclear industry needs the rigorous formal verification, reliability testing and quality assessment that are being applied to safety critical software. Recently, however, there is increasing recognition that systematic and objective quality assessment of the scientific software used in design and safety analyses of nuclear facilities is necessary to support safety and licensing decisions. Because of the complexity and large size of these programs and the resource constraints faced by the AECB reviewer, it is desirable that appropriate automated tools are used wherever practical. To objectively assess the quality of software, a set of attributes of a software product by which its quality is described and evaluated must be established. These attributes must be relevant to the application domain of software under evaluation. To effectively assess the quality of software, metrics defining quantitative scale and method appropriate to determine the value of attributes need to be applied. To cost-effectively perform the evaluation, use of suitable automated tools is desirable. In this project, criteria for evaluating the quality of scientific software are presented; metrics for which those criteria can be evaluated are identified; a survey of automated tools to measure those metrics was conducted and the most appropriate tool (QA Fortran) was acquired; and the tool usage was demonstrated on three sample programs. (author) 5 refs

Applying CASE Tools for On-Board Software Development

Science.gov (United States)

Brammer, U.; Hönle, A.

For many space projects the software development is facing great pressure with respect to quality, costs and schedule. One way to cope with these challenges is the application of CASE tools for automatic generation of code and documentation. This paper describes two CASE tools: Rhapsody (I-Logix) featuring UML and ISG (BSSE) that provides modeling of finite state machines. Both tools have been used at Kayser-Threde in different space projects for the development of on-board software. The tools are discussed with regard to the full software development cycle.

Tool Use Within NASA Software Quality Assurance

Science.gov (United States)

Shigeta, Denise; Port, Dan; Nikora, Allen P.; Wilf, Joel

2013-01-01

As space mission software systems become larger and more complex, it is increasingly important for the software assurance effort to have the ability to effectively assess both the artifacts produced during software system development and the development process itself. Conceptually, assurance is a straightforward idea - it is the result of activities carried out by an organization independent of the software developers to better inform project management of potential technical and programmatic risks, and thus increase management's confidence in the decisions they ultimately make. In practice, effective assurance for large, complex systems often entails assessing large, complex software artifacts (e.g., requirements specifications, architectural descriptions) as well as substantial amounts of unstructured information (e.g., anomaly reports resulting from testing activities during development). In such an environment, assurance engineers can benefit greatly from appropriate tool support. In order to do so, an assurance organization will need accurate and timely information on the tool support available for various types of assurance activities. In this paper, we investigate the current use of tool support for assurance organizations within NASA, and describe on-going work at JPL for providing assurance organizations with the information about tools they need to use them effectively.

EINSTEIN - Expert system for an Intelligent Supply of Thermal Energy in Industry. Audit methodology and software tool

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schweiger, Hans; Danov, Stoyan (energyXperts.NET (Spain)); Vannoni, Claudia; Facci, Enrico (Sapienza Univ. of Rome, Dept. of Mechanics and Aeronautics, Rome (Italy)); Brunner, Christoph; Slawitsch, Bettina (Joanneum Research, Inst. of Sustainable Techniques and Systems - JOINTS, Graz (Austria))

2009-07-01

For optimising thermal energy supply in industry, a holistic integral approach is required that includes possibilities of demand reduction by heat recovery and process integration, and by an intelligent combination of efficient heat and cold supply technologies. EINSTEIN is a tool-kit for fast and high quality thermal energy audits in industry, composed by an audit guide describing the methodology and by a software tool that guides the auditor through all the audit steps. The main features of EINSTEIN are: (1) a basic questionnaire helps for systematic collection of the necessary information with the possibility to acquire data by distance; (2) special tools allow for fast consistency checking and estimation of missing data, so that already with very few data some first predictions can be made; (3) the data processing is based on standardised models for industrial processes and industrial heat supply systems; (4) semi-automatization: the software tool gives support to decision making for the generation of alternative heat and cold supply proposals, carries out automatically all the necessary calculations, including dynamic simulation of the heat supply system, and creates a standard audit report. The software tool includes modules for benchmarking, automatic design of heat exchanger networks, and design assistants for the heat and cold supply system. The core of the expert system software tool is available for free, as an open source software project. This type of software development has shown to be very efficient for dissemination of knowledge and for the continuous maintenance and improvement thanks to user contributions.

Software Users Manual (SUM): Extended Testability Analysis (ETA) Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Maul, William A.; Fulton, Christopher E.

2011-01-01

This software user manual describes the implementation and use the Extended Testability Analysis (ETA) Tool. The ETA Tool is a software program that augments the analysis and reporting capabilities of a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) testability analysis software package called the Testability Engineering And Maintenance System (TEAMS) Designer. An initial diagnostic assessment is performed by the TEAMS Designer software using a qualitative, directed-graph model of the system being analyzed. The ETA Tool utilizes system design information captured within the diagnostic model and testability analysis output from the TEAMS Designer software to create a series of six reports for various system engineering needs. The ETA Tool allows the user to perform additional studies on the testability analysis results by determining the detection sensitivity to the loss of certain sensors or tests. The ETA Tool was developed to support design and development of the NASA Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle. The diagnostic analysis provided by the ETA Tool was proven to be valuable system engineering output that provided consistency in the verification of system engineering requirements. This software user manual provides a description of each output report generated by the ETA Tool. The manual also describes the example diagnostic model and supporting documentation - also provided with the ETA Tool software release package - that were used to generate the reports presented in the manual

Software Tools for Development on the Peregrine System | High-Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Computing | NREL Software Tools for Development on the Peregrine System Software Tools for and manage software at the source code level. Cross-Platform Make and SCons The "Cross-Platform Make" (CMake) package is from Kitware, and SCons is a modern software build tool based on Python

Development of software for the determination of gamma ray detection efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, Antonio C.O. da; Genezini, Frederico A.; Zahn, Guilherme S.

2009-01-01

Gamma spectrometry is frequently used as a tool in analytical chemistry or environmental analyses. The efficiency of the detection setup is one of most important steps of the analyses, but users don't always calculate their own efficiency curve because this procedure is not trivial, and therefore they adapt their measurement geometry to work in a setup that has been previously calibrated, which will often cause limitations. In order to solve this problem, a software was developed that helps a non-experienced user to compute the detection efficiency curve and to determine the detection efficiency at a given gamma-ray energy. (author)

PISCES: A Tool for Predicting Software Testability

Science.gov (United States)

Voas, Jeffrey M.; Miller, Keith W.; Payne, Jeffery E.

1991-01-01

Before a program can fail, a software fault must be executed, that execution must alter the data state, and the incorrect data state must propagate to a state that results directly in an incorrect output. This paper describes a tool called PISCES (developed by Reliable Software Technologies Corporation) for predicting the probability that faults in a particular program location will accomplish all three of these steps causing program failure. PISCES is a tool that is used during software verification and validation to predict a program's testability.

A parallel and sensitive software tool for methylation analysis on multicore platforms.

Science.gov (United States)

Tárraga, Joaquín; Pérez, Mariano; Orduña, Juan M; Duato, José; Medina, Ignacio; Dopazo, Joaquín

2015-10-01

DNA methylation analysis suffers from very long processing time, as the advent of Next-Generation Sequencers has shifted the bottleneck of genomic studies from the sequencers that obtain the DNA samples to the software that performs the analysis of these samples. The existing software for methylation analysis does not seem to scale efficiently neither with the size of the dataset nor with the length of the reads to be analyzed. As it is expected that the sequencers will provide longer and longer reads in the near future, efficient and scalable methylation software should be developed. We present a new software tool, called HPG-Methyl, which efficiently maps bisulphite sequencing reads on DNA, analyzing DNA methylation. The strategy used by this software consists of leveraging the speed of the Burrows-Wheeler Transform to map a large number of DNA fragments (reads) rapidly, as well as the accuracy of the Smith-Waterman algorithm, which is exclusively employed to deal with the most ambiguous and shortest reads. Experimental results on platforms with Intel multicore processors show that HPG-Methyl significantly outperforms in both execution time and sensitivity state-of-the-art software such as Bismark, BS-Seeker or BSMAP, particularly for long bisulphite reads. Software in the form of C libraries and functions, together with instructions to compile and execute this software. Available by sftp to anonymous@clariano.uv.es (password 'anonymous'). juan.orduna@uv.es or jdopazo@cipf.es. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

EISA 432 Energy Audits Best Practices: Software Tools

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maryl Fisher

2014-11-01

Five whole building analysis software tools that can aid an energy manager with fulfilling energy audit and commissioning/retro-commissioning requirements were selected for review in this best practices study. A description of each software tool is provided as well as a discussion of the user interface and level of expertise required for each tool, a review of how to use the tool for analyzing energy conservation opportunities, the format and content of reports generated by the tool, and a discussion on the applicability of the tool for commissioning.

A SOFTWARE TOOL TO COMPARE MEASURED AND SIMULATED BUILDING ENERGY PERFORMANCE DATA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maile, Tobias; Bazjanac, Vladimir; O' Donnell, James; Garr, Matthew

2011-11-01

Building energy performance is often inadequate when compared to design goals. To link design goals to actual operation one can compare measured with simulated energy performance data. Our previously developed comparison approach is the Energy Performance Comparison Methodology (EPCM), which enables the identification of performance problems based on a comparison of measured and simulated performance data. In context of this method, we developed a software tool that provides graphing and data processing capabilities of the two performance data sets. The software tool called SEE IT (Stanford Energy Efficiency Information Tool) eliminates the need for manual generation of data plots and data reformatting. SEE IT makes the generation of time series, scatter and carpet plots independent of the source of data (measured or simulated) and provides a valuable tool for comparing measurements with simulation results. SEE IT also allows assigning data points on a predefined building object hierarchy and supports different versions of simulated performance data. This paper briefly introduces the EPCM, describes the SEE IT tool and illustrates its use in the context of a building case study.

Academic software development tools and techniques (Report on the 1st Workshop WASDeTT at ECOOP 2008)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wuyts, R.; Kienle, H.M.; Mens, K.; Brand, van den M.G.J.; Kuhn, A.; Eugster, P.

2009-01-01

The objective of the 1st International Workshop on Advanced Software Development Tools and Techniques (WASDeTT-1) was to provide interested researchers with a forum to share their tool building experiences and to explore how tools can be built more effectively and efficiently. The theme for this

A Business Analytics Software Tool for Monitoring and Predicting Radiology Throughput Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Stephen; Cournane, Seán; Sheehy, Niall; Hederman, Lucy

2016-12-01

Business analytics (BA) is increasingly being utilised by radiology departments to analyse and present data. It encompasses statistical analysis, forecasting and predictive modelling and is used as an umbrella term for decision support and business intelligence systems. The primary aim of this study was to determine whether utilising BA technologies could contribute towards improved decision support and resource management within radiology departments. A set of information technology requirements were identified with key stakeholders, and a prototype BA software tool was designed, developed and implemented. A qualitative evaluation of the tool was carried out through a series of semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. Feedback was collated, and emergent themes were identified. The results indicated that BA software applications can provide visibility of radiology performance data across all time horizons. The study demonstrated that the tool could potentially assist with improving operational efficiencies and management of radiology resources.

Northwestern University Schizophrenia Data and Software Tool (NUSDAST

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei eWang

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The schizophrenia research community has invested substantial resources on collecting, managing and sharing large neuroimaging datasets. As part of this effort, our group has collected high resolution magnetic resonance (MR datasets from individuals with schizophrenia, their non-psychotic siblings, healthy controls and their siblings. This effort has resulted in a growing resource, the Northwestern University Schizophrenia Data and Software Tool (NUSDAST, an NIH-funded data sharing project to stimulate new research. This resource resides on XNAT Central, and it contains neuroimaging (MR scans, landmarks and surface maps for deep subcortical structures, and FreeSurfer cortical parcellation and measurement data, cognitive (cognitive domain scores for crystallized intelligence, working memory, episodic memory, and executive function, clinical (demographic, sibling relationship, SAPS and SANS psychopathology, and genetic (20 polymorphisms data, collected from more than 450 subjects, most with 2-year longitudinal follow-up. A neuroimaging mapping, analysis and visualization software tool, CAWorks, is also part of this resource. Moreover, in making our existing neuroimaging data along with the associated meta-data and computational tools publically accessible, we have established a web-based information retrieval portal that allows the user to efficiently search the collection. This research-ready dataset meaningfully combines neuroimaging data with other relevant information, and it can be used to help facilitate advancing neuroimaging research. It is our hope that this effort will help to overcome some of the commonly recognized technical barriers in advancing neuroimaging research such as lack of local organization and standard descriptions.

A portable software tool for computing digitally reconstructed radiographs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaney, Edward L.; Thorn, Jesse S.; Tracton, Gregg; Cullip, Timothy; Rosenman, Julian G.; Tepper, Joel E.

1995-01-01

Purpose: To develop a portable software tool for fast computation of digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRR) with a friendly user interface and versatile image format and display options. To provide a means for interfacing with commercial and custom three-dimensional (3D) treatment planning systems. To make the tool freely available to the Radiation Oncology community. Methods and Materials: A computer program for computing DRRs was enhanced with new features and rewritten to increase computational efficiency. A graphical user interface was added to improve ease of data input and DRR display. Installer, programmer, and user manuals were written, and installation test data sets were developed. The code conforms to the specifications of the Cooperative Working Group (CWG) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Contract on Radiotherapy Treatment Planning Tools. Results: The interface allows the user to select DRR input data and image formats primarily by point-and-click mouse operations. Digitally reconstructed radiograph formats are predefined by configuration files that specify 19 calculation parameters. Enhancements include improved contrast resolution for visualizing surgical clips, an extended source model to simulate the penumbra region in a computed port film, and the ability to easily modify the CT numbers of objects contoured on the planning computed tomography (CT) scans. Conclusions: The DRR tool can be used with 3D planning systems that lack this functionality, or perhaps improve the quality and functionality of existing DRR software. The tool can be interfaced to 3D planning systems that run on most modern graphics workstations, and can also function as a stand-alone program

Testing tool for software concerning nuclear power plant safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boulc'h, J.; Le Meur, M.; Collart, J.M.; Segalard, J.; Uberschlag, J.

1984-11-01

In the present case, softwares to be analyzed are all written in assembler language. This paper presents the study and the realization of a tool to analyze softwares which have an important role for nuclear reactor protection and sauvegarde: principles of the tool design, working principle, realization and evolution of dynamic analyze tool [fr

Structure and software tools of AIDA.

Science.gov (United States)

Duisterhout, J S; Franken, B; Witte, F

1987-01-01

AIDA consists of a set of software tools to allow for fast development and easy-to-maintain Medical Information Systems. AIDA supports all aspects of such a system both during development and operation. It contains tools to build and maintain forms for interactive data entry and on-line input validation, a database management system including a data dictionary and a set of run-time routines for database access, and routines for querying the database and output formatting. Unlike an application generator, the user of AIDA may select parts of the tools to fulfill his needs and program other subsystems not developed with AIDA. The AIDA software uses as host language the ANSI-standard programming language MUMPS, an interpreted language embedded in an integrated database and programming environment. This greatly facilitates the portability of AIDA applications. The database facilities supported by AIDA are based on a relational data model. This data model is built on top of the MUMPS database, the so-called global structure. This relational model overcomes the restrictions of the global structure regarding string length. The global structure is especially powerful for sorting purposes. Using MUMPS as a host language allows the user an easy interface between user-defined data validation checks or other user-defined code and the AIDA tools. AIDA has been designed primarily for prototyping and for the construction of Medical Information Systems in a research environment which requires a flexible approach. The prototyping facility of AIDA operates terminal independent and is even to a great extent multi-lingual. Most of these features are table-driven; this allows on-line changes in the use of terminal type and language, but also causes overhead. AIDA has a set of optimizing tools by which it is possible to build a faster, but (of course) less flexible code from these table definitions. By separating the AIDA software in a source and a run-time version, one is able to write

Caesy: A software tool for computer-aided engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Wette, Matt

1993-01-01

A new software tool, Caesy, is described. This tool provides a strongly typed programming environment for research in the development of algorithms and software for computer-aided control system design. A description of the user language and its implementation as they currently stand are presented along with a description of work in progress and areas of future work.

Software Development Methods and Tools: a New Zealand study

OpenAIRE

Chris Phillips; Elizabeth Kemp; Duncan Hedderley

2005-01-01

This study is a more detailed follow-up to a preliminary investigation of the practices of software engineers in New Zealand. The focus of this study is on the methods and tools used by software developers in their current organisation. The project involved detailed questionnaires being piloted and sent out to several hundred software developers. A central part of the research involved the identification of factors affecting the use and take-up of existing software development tools in the wo...

Toxicity Estimation Software Tool (TEST)

Science.gov (United States)

The Toxicity Estimation Software Tool (TEST) was developed to allow users to easily estimate the toxicity of chemicals using Quantitative Structure Activity Relationships (QSARs) methodologies. QSARs are mathematical models used to predict measures of toxicity from the physical c...

Runtime Performance Monitoring Tool for RTEMS System Software

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, B.; Kim, S.; Park, H.; Kim, H.; Choi, J.; Chae, D.; Lee, J.

2007-08-01

RTEMS is a commercial-grade real-time operating system that supports multi-processor computers. However, there are not many development tools for RTEMS. In this paper, we report new RTEMS-based runtime performance monitoring tool. We have implemented a light weight runtime monitoring task with an extension to the RTEMS APIs. Using our tool, software developers can verify various performance- related parameters during runtime. Our tool can be used during software development phase and in-orbit operation as well. Our implemented target agent is light weight and has small overhead using SpaceWire interface. Efforts to reduce overhead and to add other monitoring parameters are currently under research.

Claire, a tool used for the simulation of events in software tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henry, J.Y.; Boulc'h, J.; Raguideau, J.; Schoen, D.

1994-06-01

CLAIRE provides a purely software system which makes it possible to validate the on line applications dealt out to the specifications domain or the code. This tool offers easy graphic design of the application and of its environment. It caries out quite efficiently the simulation of any logged in model and runs the control of the evolution either dynamically or with prerecorded time. (TEC)

Evaluation of the efficiency and fault density of software generated by code generators

Science.gov (United States)

Schreur, Barbara

1993-01-01

Flight computers and flight software are used for GN&C (guidance, navigation, and control), engine controllers, and avionics during missions. The software development requires the generation of a considerable amount of code. The engineers who generate the code make mistakes and the generation of a large body of code with high reliability requires considerable time. Computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools are available which generates code automatically with inputs through graphical interfaces. These tools are referred to as code generators. In theory, code generators could write highly reliable code quickly and inexpensively. The various code generators offer different levels of reliability checking. Some check only the finished product while some allow checking of individual modules and combined sets of modules as well. Considering NASA's requirement for reliability, an in house manually generated code is needed. Furthermore, automatically generated code is reputed to be as efficient as the best manually generated code when executed. In house verification is warranted.

FFI: A software tool for ecological monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Duncan C. Lutes; Nathan C. Benson; MaryBeth Keifer; John F. Caratti; S. Austin Streetman

2009-01-01

A new monitoring tool called FFI (FEAT/FIREMON Integrated) has been developed to assist managers with collection, storage and analysis of ecological information. The tool was developed through the complementary integration of two fire effects monitoring systems commonly used in the United States: FIREMON and the Fire Ecology Assessment Tool. FFI provides software...

Software tool for data mining and its applications

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jie; Ye, Chenzhou; Chen, Nianyi

2002-03-01

A software tool for data mining is introduced, which integrates pattern recognition (PCA, Fisher, clustering, hyperenvelop, regression), artificial intelligence (knowledge representation, decision trees), statistical learning (rough set, support vector machine), computational intelligence (neural network, genetic algorithm, fuzzy systems). It consists of nine function models: pattern recognition, decision trees, association rule, fuzzy rule, neural network, genetic algorithm, Hyper Envelop, support vector machine, visualization. The principle and knowledge representation of some function models of data mining are described. The software tool of data mining is realized by Visual C++ under Windows 2000. Nonmonotony in data mining is dealt with by concept hierarchy and layered mining. The software tool of data mining has satisfactorily applied in the prediction of regularities of the formation of ternary intermetallic compounds in alloy systems, and diagnosis of brain glioma.

Claire, a simulation and testing tool for critical softwares

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gassino, J.; Henry, J.Y.

1996-01-01

The CEA and IPSN (Institute of Nuclear Protection and Safety) needs concerning the testing of critical softwares, have led to the development of the CLAIRE tool which is able to test the softwares without modification. This tool allows to graphically model the system and its environment and to include components into the model which observe and do not modify the behaviour of the system to be tested. The executable codes are integrated in the model. The tool uses target machine simulators (microprocessors). The technique used (the event simulation) allows to associate actions with events such as the execution of an instruction, the access to a variable etc.. The simulation results are exploited using graphic, states research and test cover measurement tools. In particular, this tool can give help to the evaluation of critical softwares with pre-existing components. (J.S.)

The Green Lab : Experimentation in Software Energy Efficiency

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Procaccianti, Giuseppe; Lago, Patricia; Vetrò, Antonio; Méndez Fernández, Daniel; Wieringa, Roel

2015-01-01

Software energy efficiency is a research topic where experimentation is widely adopted. Nevertheless, current studies and research approaches struggle to find generalizable findings that can be used to build a consistent knowledge base for energy-efficient software. To this end, we will discuss how

Installing and Setting Up Git Software Tool on Windows | High-Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Computing | NREL Git Software Tool on Windows Installing and Setting Up Git Software Tool on Windows Learn how to set up the Git software tool on Windows for use with the Peregrine system. Git is this doc, we'll show you how to get git installed on Windows 7, and how to get things set up on NREL's

Software tools for microprocessor based systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halatsis, C.

1981-01-01

After a short review of the hardware and/or software tools for the development of single-chip, fixed instruction set microprocessor-based sytems we focus on the software tools for designing systems based on microprogrammed bit-sliced microprocessors. Emphasis is placed on meta-microassemblers and simulation facilties at the register-transfer-level and architecture level. We review available meta-microassemblers giving their most important features, advantages and disadvantages. We also make extentions to higher-level microprogramming languages and associated systems specifically developed for bit-slices. In the area of simulation facilities we first discuss the simulation objectives and the criteria for chosing the right simulation language. We consertrate to simulation facilities already used in bit-slices projects and discuss the gained experience. We conclude by describing the way the Signetics meta-microassembler and the ISPS simulation tool have been employed in the design of a fast microprogrammed machine, called MICE, made out of ECL bit-slices. (orig.)

Estimation of toxicity using a Java based software tool

Science.gov (United States)

A software tool has been developed that will allow a user to estimate the toxicity for a variety of endpoints (such as acute aquatic toxicity). The software tool is coded in Java and can be accessed using a web browser (or alternatively downloaded and ran as a stand alone applic...

Lean and Efficient Software: Whole-Program Optimization of Executables

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-30

Lean and Efficient Software: Whole-Program Optimization of Executables” Project Summary Report #5 (Report Period: 7/1/2015 to 9/30/2015...TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2015 to 00-00-2015 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Lean and Efficient Software: Whole-Program Optimization of Executables 5a...unclassified c. THIS PAGE unclassified Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18 Lean and Efficient Software: Whole-Program

The classification and evaluation of Computer-Aided Software Engineering tools

OpenAIRE

Manley, Gary W.

1990-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution unlimited. The use of Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools has been viewed as a remedy for the software development crisis by achieving improved productivity and system quality via the automation of all or part of the software engineering process. The proliferation and tremendous variety of tools available have stretched the understanding of experienced practitioners and has had a profound impact on the software engineering process itse...

A coherent environment of software improvement tools for CMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eulisse, G.; Muzaffar, S.; Osborne, I.; Taylor, L.; Tuura, L.A.

2004-01-01

CMS has developed approximately one million lines of C++ code and uses many more from HEP, Grid and public domain projects. We describe a suite of tools which help to manage this complexity by measuring software dependencies, quality metrics, and CPU and memory performance. This coherent environment integrates and extends existing open-source tools where possible and provides new in-house components where a suitable solution does not already exist. This is a freely available environment with graphical user interface which can be run on any software without the need to recompile or instrument it. We have developed ignominy which performs software dependency analysis of source code, binary products and external software. CPU profiling is provided based on oprofile, with added features such as profile snapshots, distributed profiling and aggregate profiles for farm systems including server-side tools for collecting profile data. Finally, we have developed a low-overhead performance and memory profiling tool, MemProf, which can perform (gprof-style) hierarchical performance profiling, in a way that works with multiple threads and dynamically loaded libraries (unlike gprof). It also gathers exact memory allocation profiles including which code allocates most, in what sizes of chunks, for how long, where the memory is getting freed and where it is getting leaked. We describe this tool suite and how it has been used to enhance the quality of CMS software

Technology Transfer Challenges for High-Assurance Software Engineering Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Koga, Dennis (Technical Monitor); Penix, John; Markosian, Lawrence Z.

2003-01-01

In this paper, we describe our experience with the challenges thar we are currently facing in our effort to develop advanced software verification and validation tools. We categorize these challenges into several areas: cost benefits modeling, tool usability, customer application domain, and organizational issues. We provide examples of challenges in each area and identrfj, open research issues in areas which limit our ability to transfer high-assurance software engineering tools into practice.

Computer-aided design in power engineering. Application of software tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stojkovic, Zlatan

2012-01-01

Demonstrates the use software tools in the practice of design in the field of power systems. Presents many applications in the design in the field of power systems. Useful for educative purposes and practical work. This textbooks demonstrates the application of software tools in solving a series of problems from the field of designing power system structures and systems. It contains four chapters: The first chapter leads the reader through all the phases necessary in the procedures of computer aided modeling and simulation. It guides through the complex problems presenting on the basis of eleven original examples. The second chapter presents application of software tools in power system calculations of power systems equipment design. Several design example calculations are carried out using engineering standards like MATLAB, EMTP/ATP, Excel and Access, AutoCAD and Simulink. The third chapters focuses on the graphical documentation using a collection of software tools (AutoCAD, EPLAN, SIMARIS SIVACON, SIMARIS DESIGN) which enable the complete automation of the development of graphical documentation of a power systems. In the fourth chapter, the application of software tools in the project management in power systems is discussed. Here, the emphasis is put on the standard software MS Excel and MS Project.

Computer-aided design in power engineering. Application of software tools

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stojkovic, Zlatan

2012-07-01

Demonstrates the use software tools in the practice of design in the field of power systems. Presents many applications in the design in the field of power systems. Useful for educative purposes and practical work. This textbooks demonstrates the application of software tools in solving a series of problems from the field of designing power system structures and systems. It contains four chapters: The first chapter leads the reader through all the phases necessary in the procedures of computer aided modeling and simulation. It guides through the complex problems presenting on the basis of eleven original examples. The second chapter presents application of software tools in power system calculations of power systems equipment design. Several design example calculations are carried out using engineering standards like MATLAB, EMTP/ATP, Excel and Access, AutoCAD and Simulink. The third chapters focuses on the graphical documentation using a collection of software tools (AutoCAD, EPLAN, SIMARIS SIVACON, SIMARIS DESIGN) which enable the complete automation of the development of graphical documentation of a power systems. In the fourth chapter, the application of software tools in the project management in power systems is discussed. Here, the emphasis is put on the standard software MS Excel and MS Project.

User Studies: Developing Learning Strategy Tool Software for Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzgerald, Gail E.; Koury, Kevin A.; Peng, Hsinyi

This paper is a report of user studies for developing learning strategy tool software for children. The prototype software demonstrated is designed for children with learning and behavioral disabilities. The tools consist of easy-to-use templates for creating organizational, memory, and learning approach guides for use in classrooms and at home.…

A communication protocol for interactively controlling software tools

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wulp, van der J.

2008-01-01

We present a protocol for interactively using software tools in a loosely coupled tool environment. Such an environment can assist the user in doing tasks that require the use of multiple tools. For example, it can invoke tools on certain input, set processing parameters, await task completion and

Recent development in software and automation tools for high-throughput discovery bioanalysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Shou, Wilson Z; Zhang, Jun

2012-05-01

Bioanalysis with LC-MS/MS has been established as the method of choice for quantitative determination of drug candidates in biological matrices in drug discovery and development. The LC-MS/MS bioanalytical support for drug discovery, especially for early discovery, often requires high-throughput (HT) analysis of large numbers of samples (hundreds to thousands per day) generated from many structurally diverse compounds (tens to hundreds per day) with a very quick turnaround time, in order to provide important activity and liability data to move discovery projects forward. Another important consideration for discovery bioanalysis is its fit-for-purpose quality requirement depending on the particular experiments being conducted at this stage, and it is usually not as stringent as those required in bioanalysis supporting drug development. These aforementioned attributes of HT discovery bioanalysis made it an ideal candidate for using software and automation tools to eliminate manual steps, remove bottlenecks, improve efficiency and reduce turnaround time while maintaining adequate quality. In this article we will review various recent developments that facilitate automation of individual bioanalytical procedures, such as sample preparation, MS/MS method development, sample analysis and data review, as well as fully integrated software tools that manage the entire bioanalytical workflow in HT discovery bioanalysis. In addition, software tools supporting the emerging high-resolution accurate MS bioanalytical approach are also discussed.

Omics Informatics: From Scattered Individual Software Tools to Integrated Workflow Management Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Tianle; Zhang, Aidong

2017-01-01

Omic data analyses pose great informatics challenges. As an emerging subfield of bioinformatics, omics informatics focuses on analyzing multi-omic data efficiently and effectively, and is gaining momentum. There are two underlying trends in the expansion of omics informatics landscape: the explosion of scattered individual omics informatics tools with each of which focuses on a specific task in both single- and multi- omic settings, and the fast-evolving integrated software platforms such as workflow management systems that can assemble multiple tools into pipelines and streamline integrative analysis for complicated tasks. In this survey, we give a holistic view of omics informatics, from scattered individual informatics tools to integrated workflow management systems. We not only outline the landscape and challenges of omics informatics, but also sample a number of widely used and cutting-edge algorithms in omics data analysis to give readers a fine-grained view. We survey various workflow management systems (WMSs), classify them into three levels of WMSs from simple software toolkits to integrated multi-omic analytical platforms, and point out the emerging needs for developing intelligent workflow management systems. We also discuss the challenges, strategies and some existing work in systematic evaluation of omics informatics tools. We conclude by providing future perspectives of emerging fields and new frontiers in omics informatics.

The evolution of CACSD tools-a software engineering perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ravn, Ole; Szymkat, Maciej

1992-01-01

The earlier evolution of computer-aided control system design (CACSD) tools is discussed from a software engineering perspective. A model of the design process is presented as the basis for principles and requirements of future CACSD tools. Combinability, interfacing in memory, and an open...... workspace are seen as important concepts in CACSD. Some points are made about the problem of buy or make when new software is required, and the idea of buy and make is put forward. Emphasis is put on the time perspective and the life cycle of the software...

A software communication tool for the tele-ICU.

Science.gov (United States)

Pimintel, Denise M; Wei, Shang Heng; Odor, Alberto

2013-01-01

The Tele Intensive Care Unit (tele-ICU) supports a high volume, high acuity population of patients. There is a high-volume of incoming and outgoing calls, especially during the evening and night hours, through the tele-ICU hubs. The tele-ICU clinicians must be able to communicate effectively to team members in order to support the care of complex and critically ill patients while supporting and maintaining a standard to improve time to intervention. This study describes a software communication tool that will improve the time to intervention, over the paper-driven communication format presently used in the tele-ICU. The software provides a multi-relational database of message instances to mine information for evaluation and quality improvement for all entities that touch the tele-ICU. The software design incorporates years of critical care and software design experience combined with new skills acquired in an applied Health Informatics program. This software tool will function in the tele-ICU environment and perform as a front-end application that gathers, routes, and displays internal communication messages for intervention by priority and provider.

Tuning COCOMO-II for Software Process Improvement: A Tool Based Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SYEDA UMEMA HANI

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In order to compete in the international software development market the software organizations have to adopt internationally accepted software practices i.e. standard like ISO (International Standard Organization or CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration in spite of having scarce resources and tools. The aim of this study is to develop a tool which could be used to present an actual picture of Software Process Improvement benefits in front of the software development companies. However, there are few tools available to assist in making predictions, they are too expensive and could not cover dataset that reflect the cultural behavior of organizations for software development in developing countries. In extension to our previously done research reported elsewhere for Pakistani software development organizations which has quantified benefits of SDPI (Software Development Process Improvement, this research has used sixty-two datasets from three different software development organizations against the set of metrics used in COCOMO-II (Constructive Cost Model 2000. It derived a verifiable equation for calculating ISF (Ideal Scale Factor and tuned the COCOMO-II model to bring prediction capability for SDPI (benefit measurement classes such as ESCP (Effort, Schedule, Cost, and Productivity. This research has contributed towards software industry by giving a reliable and low-cost mechanism for generating prediction models with high prediction accuracy. Hopefully, this study will help software organizations to use this tool not only to predict ESCP but also to predict an exact impact of SDPI.

Computer- Aided Design in Power Engineering Application of Software Tools

CERN Document Server

Stojkovic, Zlatan

2012-01-01

This textbooks demonstrates the application of software tools in solving a series of problems from the field of designing power system structures and systems. It contains four chapters: The first chapter leads the reader through all the phases necessary in the procedures of computer aided modeling and simulation. It guides through the complex problems presenting on the basis of eleven original examples. The second chapter presents  application of software tools in power system calculations of power systems equipment design. Several design example calculations are carried out using engineering standards like MATLAB, EMTP/ATP, Excel & Access, AutoCAD and Simulink. The third chapters focuses on the graphical documentation using a collection of software tools (AutoCAD, EPLAN, SIMARIS SIVACON, SIMARIS DESIGN) which enable the complete automation of the development of graphical documentation of a power systems. In the fourth chapter, the application of software tools in the project management in power systems ...

ATLAS software configuration and build tool optimisation

Science.gov (United States)

Rybkin, Grigory; Atlas Collaboration

2014-06-01

ATLAS software code base is over 6 million lines organised in about 2000 packages. It makes use of some 100 external software packages, is developed by more than 400 developers and used by more than 2500 physicists from over 200 universities and laboratories in 6 continents. To meet the challenge of configuration and building of this software, the Configuration Management Tool (CMT) is used. CMT expects each package to describe its build targets, build and environment setup parameters, dependencies on other packages in a text file called requirements, and each project (group of packages) to describe its policies and dependencies on other projects in a text project file. Based on the effective set of configuration parameters read from the requirements files of dependent packages and project files, CMT commands build the packages, generate the environment for their use, or query the packages. The main focus was on build time performance that was optimised within several approaches: reduction of the number of reads of requirements files that are now read once per package by a CMT build command that generates cached requirements files for subsequent CMT build commands; introduction of more fine-grained build parallelism at package task level, i.e., dependent applications and libraries are compiled in parallel; code optimisation of CMT commands used for build; introduction of package level build parallelism, i. e., parallelise the build of independent packages. By default, CMT launches NUMBER-OF-PROCESSORS build commands in parallel. The other focus was on CMT commands optimisation in general that made them approximately 2 times faster. CMT can generate a cached requirements file for the environment setup command, which is especially useful for deployment on distributed file systems like AFS or CERN VMFS. The use of parallelism, caching and code optimisation significantly-by several times-reduced software build time, environment setup time, increased the efficiency of

Utilizing Visual Effects Software for Efficient and Flexible Isostatic Adjustment Modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Meldgaard, A.; Nielsen, L.; Iaffaldano, G.

2017-12-01

The isostatic adjustment signal generated by transient ice sheet loading is an important indicator of past ice sheet extent and the rheological constitution of the interior of the Earth. Finite element modelling has proved to be a very useful tool in these studies. We present a simple numerical model for 3D visco elastic Earth deformation and a new approach to the design of such models utilizing visual effects software designed for the film and game industry. The software package Houdini offers an assortment of optimized tools and libraries which greatly facilitate the creation of efficient numerical algorithms. In particular, we make use of Houdini's procedural work flow, the SIMD programming language VEX, Houdini's sparse matrix creation and inversion libraries, an inbuilt tetrahedralizer for grid creation, and the user interface, which facilitates effortless manipulation of 3D geometry. We mitigate many of the time consuming steps associated with the authoring of efficient algorithms from scratch while still keeping the flexibility that may be lost with the use of commercial dedicated finite element programs. We test the efficiency of the algorithm by comparing simulation times with off-the-shelf solutions from the Abaqus software package. The algorithm is tailored for the study of local isostatic adjustment patterns, in close vicinity to present ice sheet margins. In particular, we wish to examine possible causes for the considerable spatial differences in the uplift magnitude which are apparent from field observations in these areas. Such features, with spatial scales of tens of kilometres, are not resolvable with current global isostatic adjustment models, and may require the inclusion of local topographic features. We use the presented algorithm to study a near field area where field observations are abundant, namely, Disko Bay in West Greenland with the intention of constraining Earth parameters and ice thickness. In addition, we assess how local

Sandia software guidelines: Volume 5, Tools, techniques, and methodologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1989-07-01

This volume is one in a series of Sandia Software Guidelines intended for use in producing quality software within Sandia National Laboratories. This volume describes software tools and methodologies available to Sandia personnel for the development of software, and outlines techniques that have proven useful within the Laboratories and elsewhere. References and evaluations by Sandia personnel are included. 6 figs.

Development of a User Interface for a Regression Analysis Software Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Ulbrich, Norbert Manfred; Volden, Thomas R.

2010-01-01

An easy-to -use user interface was implemented in a highly automated regression analysis tool. The user interface was developed from the start to run on computers that use the Windows, Macintosh, Linux, or UNIX operating system. Many user interface features were specifically designed such that a novice or inexperienced user can apply the regression analysis tool with confidence. Therefore, the user interface s design minimizes interactive input from the user. In addition, reasonable default combinations are assigned to those analysis settings that influence the outcome of the regression analysis. These default combinations will lead to a successful regression analysis result for most experimental data sets. The user interface comes in two versions. The text user interface version is used for the ongoing development of the regression analysis tool. The official release of the regression analysis tool, on the other hand, has a graphical user interface that is more efficient to use. This graphical user interface displays all input file names, output file names, and analysis settings for a specific software application mode on a single screen which makes it easier to generate reliable analysis results and to perform input parameter studies. An object-oriented approach was used for the development of the graphical user interface. This choice keeps future software maintenance costs to a reasonable limit. Examples of both the text user interface and graphical user interface are discussed in order to illustrate the user interface s overall design approach.

OST: analysis tool for real time software by simulation of material and software environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boulc'h; Le Meur; Lapassat; Salichon; Segalard

1988-07-01

The utilization of microprocessors systems in a nuclear installation control oblige a great operation safety in the installation operation and in the environment protection. For the safety analysis of these installations the Institute of Protection and Nuclear Safety (IPSN) will dispose tools which permit to make controls during all the life of the software. The simulation and test tool (OST) which have been created is completely made by softwares. It is used on VAX calculators and can be easily transportable on other calculators [fr

PC Software graphics tool for conceptual design of space/planetary electrical power systems

Science.gov (United States)

Truong, Long V.

1995-01-01

This paper describes the Decision Support System (DSS), a personal computer software graphics tool for designing conceptual space and/or planetary electrical power systems. By using the DSS, users can obtain desirable system design and operating parameters, such as system weight, electrical distribution efficiency, and bus power. With this tool, a large-scale specific power system was designed in a matter of days. It is an excellent tool to help designers make tradeoffs between system components, hardware architectures, and operation parameters in the early stages of the design cycle. The DSS is a user-friendly, menu-driven tool with online help and a custom graphical user interface. An example design and results are illustrated for a typical space power system with multiple types of power sources, frequencies, energy storage systems, and loads.

A software tool for ecosystem services assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Riegels, Niels; Klinting, Anders; Butts, Michael; Middelboe, Anne Lise; Mark, Ole

2017-04-01

The EU FP7 DESSIN project is developing methods and tools for assessment of ecosystem services (ESS) and associated economic values, with a focus on freshwater ESS in urban settings. Although the ESS approach has gained considerable visibility over the past ten years, operationalizing the approach remains a challenge. Therefore, DESSSIN is also supporting development of a free software tool to support users implementing the DESSIN ESS evaluation framework. The DESSIN ESS evaluation framework is a structured approach to measuring changes in ecosystem services. The main purpose of the framework is to facilitate the application of the ESS approach in the appraisal of projects that have impacts on freshwater ecosystems and their services. The DESSIN framework helps users evaluate changes in ESS by linking biophysical, economic, and sustainability assessments sequentially. It was developed using the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) and the DPSIR (Drivers, Pressures, States, Impacts, Responses) adaptive management cycle. The former is a standardized system for the classification of ESS developed by the European Union to enhance the consistency and comparability of ESS assessments. The latter is a well-known concept to disentangle the biophysical and social aspects of a system under study. As part of its analytical component, the DESSIN framework also integrates elements of the Final Ecosystem Goods and Services-Classification System (FEGS-CS) of the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). As implemented in the software tool, the DESSIN framework consists of five parts: • In part I of the evaluation, the ecosystem is defined and described and the local stakeholders are identified. In addition, administrative details and objectives of the assessment are defined. • In part II, drivers and pressures are identified. Once these first two elements of the DPSIR scheme have been characterized, the claimed/expected capabilities of a

Development of support tools for efficient construction of dynamic simulation program for engineering systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gofuku, Akio

1993-01-01

In this study, two support tools are developed for construction of a dynamic simulation program for engineering systems (especially nuclear systems) by combining software modules. These are (1) a sub-system to support the module selection suitable for dynamic simulation and (2) a graphical user interface to support visual construction of simulation programs. The support tools are designed to be independent on the conception of software modules (data communication methods between modules). In the module selection sub-system of item 1, a module is characterized beforehand by keywords for several criteria. The similarity between the characteristic of requested module by users and that of registered modules in the module library is estimated by a weighted average of similarity indexes for criteria. In the module selection sub-system, the weights are flexibly extracted from users by applying the analytic hierarchy process. The graphical user interface helps users to specify both calling order of modules and data transfer between two modules. The availability of the support tools is evaluated by several sample problems of module selection and dynamic simulation model construction. The support tools will be a strong tool for the efficient usage of software modules. (author)

Improving design processes through structured reflection : a prototype software tool

OpenAIRE

Reymen, I.M.M.J.; Melby, E.

2001-01-01

A prototype software tool facilitating the use of a design method supporting structured reflection on design processes is presented. The prototype, called Echo, has been developed to explore the benefits of using a software system to facilitate the use of the design method. Both the prototype software tool and the design method are developed as part of the Ph.D. project of Isabelle Reymen. The goal of the design method is supporting designers with reflection on design processes in a systemati...

Software Tools to Support the Assessment of System Health

Science.gov (United States)

Melcher, Kevin J.

2013-01-01

This presentation provides an overview of three software tools that were developed by the NASA Glenn Research Center to support the assessment of system health: the Propulsion Diagnostic Method Evaluation Strategy (ProDIMES), the Systematic Sensor Selection Strategy (S4), and the Extended Testability Analysis (ETA) tool. Originally developed to support specific NASA projects in aeronautics and space, these software tools are currently available to U.S. citizens through the NASA Glenn Software Catalog. The ProDiMES software tool was developed to support a uniform comparison of propulsion gas path diagnostic methods. Methods published in the open literature are typically applied to dissimilar platforms with different levels of complexity. They often address different diagnostic problems and use inconsistent metrics for evaluating performance. As a result, it is difficult to perform a one ]to ]one comparison of the various diagnostic methods. ProDIMES solves this problem by serving as a theme problem to aid in propulsion gas path diagnostic technology development and evaluation. The overall goal is to provide a tool that will serve as an industry standard, and will truly facilitate the development and evaluation of significant Engine Health Management (EHM) capabilities. ProDiMES has been developed under a collaborative project of The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP) based on feedback provided by individuals within the aircraft engine health management community. The S4 software tool provides a framework that supports the optimal selection of sensors for health management assessments. S4 is structured to accommodate user ]defined applications, diagnostic systems, search techniques, and system requirements/constraints. One or more sensor suites that maximize this performance while meeting other user ]defined system requirements that are presumed to exist. S4 provides a systematic approach for evaluating combinations of sensors to determine the set or sets of

REVEAL - A tool for rule driven analysis of safety critical software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miedl, H.; Kersken, M.

1998-01-01

As the determination of ultrahigh reliability figures for safety critical software is hardly possible, national and international guidelines and standards give mainly requirements for the qualitative evaluation of software. An analysis whether all these requirements are fulfilled is time and effort consuming and prone to errors, if performed manually by analysts, and should instead be dedicated to tools as far as possible. There are many ''general-purpose'' software analysis tools, both static and dynamic, which help analyzing the source code. However, they are not designed to assess the adherence to specific requirements of guidelines and standards in the nuclear field. Against the background of the development of I and C systems in the nuclear field which are based on digital techniques and implemented in high level language, it is essential that the assessor or licenser has a tool with which he can automatically and uniformly qualify as many aspects as possible of the high level language software. For this purpose the software analysis tool REVEAL has been developed at ISTec and the Halden Reactor Project. (author)

Lessons learned applying CASE methods/tools to Ada software development projects

Science.gov (United States)

Blumberg, Maurice H.; Randall, Richard L.

1993-01-01

This paper describes the lessons learned from introducing CASE methods/tools into organizations and applying them to actual Ada software development projects. This paper will be useful to any organization planning to introduce a software engineering environment (SEE) or evolving an existing one. It contains management level lessons learned, as well as lessons learned in using specific SEE tools/methods. The experiences presented are from Alpha Test projects established under the STARS (Software Technology for Adaptable and Reliable Systems) project. They reflect the front end efforts by those projects to understand the tools/methods, initial experiences in their introduction and use, and later experiences in the use of specific tools/methods and the introduction of new ones.

Holistic Framework For Establishing Interoperability of Heterogeneous Software Development Tools

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Puett, Joseph

2003-01-01

This dissertation presents a Holistic Framework for Software Engineering (HFSE) that establishes collaborative mechanisms by which existing heterogeneous software development tools and models will interoperate...

Software Engineering Tools for Scientific Models

Science.gov (United States)

Abrams, Marc; Saboo, Pallabi; Sonsini, Mike

2013-01-01

Software tools were constructed to address issues the NASA Fortran development community faces, and they were tested on real models currently in use at NASA. These proof-of-concept tools address the High-End Computing Program and the Modeling, Analysis, and Prediction Program. Two examples are the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Version 5 (GEOS-5) atmospheric model in Cell Fortran on the Cell Broadband Engine, and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) coupled atmosphere- ocean model called ModelE, written in fixed format Fortran.

Characteristics and possibilities of software tool for metal-oxide surge arresters selection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đorđević Dragan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a procedure for the selection of metal-oxide surge arresters based on the instructions given in the Siemens and ABB catalogues, respecting their differences and the characteristics and possibilities of the software tool. The software tool was developed during the preparation of a Master's thesis titled, 'Automation of Metal-Oxide Surge Arresters Selection'. An example is presented of the selection of metal-oxide surge arresters using the developed software tool.

The Systems Biology Research Tool: evolvable open-source software

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wright Jeremiah

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Research in the field of systems biology requires software for a variety of purposes. Software must be used to store, retrieve, analyze, and sometimes even to collect the data obtained from system-level (often high-throughput experiments. Software must also be used to implement mathematical models and algorithms required for simulation and theoretical predictions on the system-level. Results We introduce a free, easy-to-use, open-source, integrated software platform called the Systems Biology Research Tool (SBRT to facilitate the computational aspects of systems biology. The SBRT currently performs 35 methods for analyzing stoichiometric networks and 16 methods from fields such as graph theory, geometry, algebra, and combinatorics. New computational techniques can be added to the SBRT via process plug-ins, providing a high degree of evolvability and a unifying framework for software development in systems biology. Conclusion The Systems Biology Research Tool represents a technological advance for systems biology. This software can be used to make sophisticated computational techniques accessible to everyone (including those with no programming ability, to facilitate cooperation among researchers, and to expedite progress in the field of systems biology.

Software efical para la gestión eficiente de motores en la industria; Software Efical for Efficient Management of Motors in the Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elías V de la Rosa Masdueño

2011-02-01

Full Text Available En este trabajo se explica el diseño, e implementación de una herramienta capaz de controlar y gestionareficientemente los motores eléctricos de una industria. Para ello se elaboró un software de fácil manejoque resolviera el problema y que además brindara otras opciones a los usuarios que hicieran uso delmismo. EFICAL®, controla el inventario de los motores y sus equipos accionados, sus parámetrosnominales, mantenimientos y ensayos, permite calcular la eficiencia por distintos métodos y brinda ademásdatos de catálogos de diversos fabricantes.  This work explains the developing and application of a software tool for efficient management of electricmotors in the industry. For this it was develop friendly software that solve the problem and more over givesanother option to users. EFICAL®, controls the motor inventory and the equipment that they drive, theirnominal parameters, maintenance, and testing; also allow the efficiency calculations by various methodsand gives the catalog data of some manufacturers.

Experience with case tools in the design of process-oriented software

Science.gov (United States)

Novakov, Ognian; Sicard, Claude-Henri

1994-12-01

In Accelerator systems such as the CERN PS complex, process equipment has a life time which may exceed the typical life cycle of its related software. Taking into account the variety of such equipment, it is important to keep the analysis and design of the software in a system-independent form. This paper discusses the experience gathered in using commercial CASE tools for analysis, design and reverse engineering of different process-oriented software modules, with a principal emphasis on maintaining the initial analysis in a standardized form. Such tools have been in existence for several years, but this paper shows that they are not fully adapted to our needs. In particular, the paper stresses the problems of integrating such a tool into an existing data-base-dependent development chain, the lack of real-time simulation tools and of Object-Oriented concepts in existing commercial packages. Finally, the paper gives a broader view of software engineering needs in our particular context.

Software Tools Used for Continuous Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Corina SBUGHEA

2016-04-01

Full Text Available he present paper addresses the subject of continuous evaluation and of the IT tools that support it. The approach starts from the main concepts and methods used in the teaching process, according to the assessment methodology and, then, it focuses on their implementation in the Wondershare QuizCreator software.

A multicenter study benchmarks software tools for label-free proteome quantification.

Science.gov (United States)

Navarro, Pedro; Kuharev, Jörg; Gillet, Ludovic C; Bernhardt, Oliver M; MacLean, Brendan; Röst, Hannes L; Tate, Stephen A; Tsou, Chih-Chiang; Reiter, Lukas; Distler, Ute; Rosenberger, George; Perez-Riverol, Yasset; Nesvizhskii, Alexey I; Aebersold, Ruedi; Tenzer, Stefan

2016-11-01

Consistent and accurate quantification of proteins by mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics depends on the performance of instruments, acquisition methods and data analysis software. In collaboration with the software developers, we evaluated OpenSWATH, SWATH 2.0, Skyline, Spectronaut and DIA-Umpire, five of the most widely used software methods for processing data from sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment-ion spectra (SWATH)-MS, which uses data-independent acquisition (DIA) for label-free protein quantification. We analyzed high-complexity test data sets from hybrid proteome samples of defined quantitative composition acquired on two different MS instruments using different SWATH isolation-window setups. For consistent evaluation, we developed LFQbench, an R package, to calculate metrics of precision and accuracy in label-free quantitative MS and report the identification performance, robustness and specificity of each software tool. Our reference data sets enabled developers to improve their software tools. After optimization, all tools provided highly convergent identification and reliable quantification performance, underscoring their robustness for label-free quantitative proteomics.

GUM2DFT—a software tool for uncertainty evaluation of transient signals in the frequency domain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eichstädt, S; Wilkens, V

2016-01-01

The Fourier transform and its counterpart for discrete time signals, the discrete Fourier transform (DFT), are common tools in measurement science and application. Although almost every scientific software package offers ready-to-use implementations of the DFT, the propagation of uncertainties in line with the guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement (GUM) is typically neglected. This is of particular importance in dynamic metrology, when input estimation is carried out by deconvolution in the frequency domain. To this end, we present the new open-source software tool GUM2DFT, which utilizes closed formulas for the efficient propagation of uncertainties for the application of the DFT, inverse DFT and input estimation in the frequency domain. It handles different frequency domain representations, accounts for autocorrelation and takes advantage of the symmetry inherent in the DFT result for real-valued time domain signals. All tools are presented in terms of examples which form part of the software package. GUM2DFT will foster GUM-compliant evaluation of uncertainty in a DFT-based analysis and enable metrologists to include uncertainty evaluations in their routine work. (paper)

A multi-professional software tool for radiation therapy treatment verification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fox, Tim; Brooks, Ken; Davis, Larry

1996-01-01

Purpose: Verification of patient setup is important in conformal therapy because it provides a means of quality assurance for treatment delivery. Electronic portal imaging systems have led to software tools for performing digital comparison and verification of patient setup. However, these software tools are typically designed from a radiation oncologist's perspective even though treatment verification is a team effort involving oncologists, physicists, and therapists. A new software tool, Treatment Verification Tool (TVT), has been developed as an interactive, multi-professional application for reviewing and verifying treatment plan setup using conventional personal computers. This study will describe our approach to electronic treatment verification and demonstrate the features of TVT. Methods and Materials: TVT is an object-oriented software tool written in C++ using the PC-based Windows NT environment. The software utilizes the selection of a patient's images from a database. The software is also developed as a single window interface to reduce the amount of windows presented to the user. However, the user can select from four different possible views of the patient data. One of the views is side-by-side comparison of portal images (on-line portal images or digitized port film) with a prescription image (digitized simulator film or digitally reconstructed radiograph), and another view is a textual summary of the grades of each portal image. The grades of a portal image are assigned by a radiation oncologist using an evaluation method, and the physicists and therapists may only review these results. All users of TVT can perform image enhancement processes, measure distances, and perform semi-automated registration methods. An electronic dialogue can be established through a set of annotations and notes among the radiation oncologists and the technical staff. Results: Features of TVT include: 1) side-by-side comparison of portal images and a prescription image; 2

DVS-SOFTWARE: An Effective Tool for Applying Highly Parallelized Hardware To Computational Geophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Herrera, I.; Herrera, G. S.

2015-12-01

Most geophysical systems are macroscopic physical systems. The behavior prediction of such systems is carried out by means of computational models whose basic models are partial differential equations (PDEs) [1]. Due to the enormous size of the discretized version of such PDEs it is necessary to apply highly parallelized super-computers. For them, at present, the most efficient software is based on non-overlapping domain decomposition methods (DDM). However, a limiting feature of the present state-of-the-art techniques is due to the kind of discretizations used in them. Recently, I. Herrera and co-workers using 'non-overlapping discretizations' have produced the DVS-Software which overcomes this limitation [2]. The DVS-software can be applied to a great variety of geophysical problems and achieves very high parallel efficiencies (90%, or so [3]). It is therefore very suitable for effectively applying the most advanced parallel supercomputers available at present. In a parallel talk, in this AGU Fall Meeting, Graciela Herrera Z. will present how this software is being applied to advance MOD-FLOW. Key Words: Parallel Software for Geophysics, High Performance Computing, HPC, Parallel Computing, Domain Decomposition Methods (DDM)REFERENCES [1]. Herrera Ismael and George F. Pinder, Mathematical Modelling in Science and Engineering: An axiomatic approach", John Wiley, 243p., 2012. [2]. Herrera, I., de la Cruz L.M. and Rosas-Medina A. "Non Overlapping Discretization Methods for Partial, Differential Equations". NUMER METH PART D E, 30: 1427-1454, 2014, DOI 10.1002/num 21852. (Open source) [3]. Herrera, I., & Contreras Iván "An Innovative Tool for Effectively Applying Highly Parallelized Software To Problems of Elasticity". Geofísica Internacional, 2015 (In press)

Possibilities for using software tools in the process of secuirty design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ladislav Mariš

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The authors deal with the use of software support the process of security design. The article proposes the theoretical basis of the implementation of software tools to design activities. Based on the selected design standards of electrical safety systems application design solutions, especially in drawing documentation. The article should serve the needs of the project team members in order to use selected software tools and a subsequent increase in the degree of automation of design activities.

Leveraging Existing Mission Tools in a Re-Usable, Component-Based Software Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Greene, Kevin; Grenander, Sven; Kurien, James; z,s (fshir. z[orttr); z,scer; O'Reilly, Taifun

2006-01-01

Emerging methods in component-based software development offer significant advantages but may seem incompatible with existing mission operations applications. In this paper we relate our positive experiences integrating existing mission applications into component-based tools we are delivering to three missions. In most operations environments, a number of software applications have been integrated together to form the mission operations software. In contrast, with component-based software development chunks of related functionality and data structures, referred to as components, can be individually delivered, integrated and re-used. With the advent of powerful tools for managing component-based development, complex software systems can potentially see significant benefits in ease of integration, testability and reusability from these techniques. These benefits motivate us to ask how component-based development techniques can be relevant in a mission operations environment, where there is significant investment in software tools that are not component-based and may not be written in languages for which component-based tools even exist. Trusted and complex software tools for sequencing, validation, navigation, and other vital functions cannot simply be re-written or abandoned in order to gain the advantages offered by emerging component-based software techniques. Thus some middle ground must be found. We have faced exactly this issue, and have found several solutions. Ensemble is an open platform for development, integration, and deployment of mission operations software that we are developing. Ensemble itself is an extension of an open source, component-based software development platform called Eclipse. Due to the advantages of component-based development, we have been able to vary rapidly develop mission operations tools for three surface missions by mixing and matching from a common set of mission operation components. We have also had to determine how to

Comparison of quality control software tools for diffusion tensor imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Bilan; Zhu, Tong; Zhong, Jianhui

2015-04-01

Image quality of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is critical for image interpretation, diagnostic accuracy and efficiency. However, DTI is susceptible to numerous detrimental artifacts that may impair the reliability and validity of the obtained data. Although many quality control (QC) software tools are being developed and are widely used and each has its different tradeoffs, there is still no general agreement on an image quality control routine for DTIs, and the practical impact of these tradeoffs is not well studied. An objective comparison that identifies the pros and cons of each of the QC tools will be helpful for the users to make the best choice among tools for specific DTI applications. This study aims to quantitatively compare the effectiveness of three popular QC tools including DTI studio (Johns Hopkins University), DTIprep (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Iowa and University of Utah) and TORTOISE (National Institute of Health). Both synthetic and in vivo human brain data were used to quantify adverse effects of major DTI artifacts to tensor calculation as well as the effectiveness of different QC tools in identifying and correcting these artifacts. The technical basis of each tool was discussed, and the ways in which particular techniques affect the output of each of the tools were analyzed. The different functions and I/O formats that three QC tools provide for building a general DTI processing pipeline and integration with other popular image processing tools were also discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New software tool for dynamic radiological characterisation and monitoring in nuclear sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szoeke, Istvan; Louka, Michael N.; Mark, Niels K.; Bryntesen, Tom R.; Bratteli, Joachim; Edvardsen, Svein T.; Gustavsen, Morten A.; Toppe, Aleksander L.; Johnsen, Terje; Rindahl, Grete

2012-01-01

The Halden Reactor Project (HRP) is a jointly sponsored international cooperation, under the aegis of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - Nuclear Energy Agency. Extensive and valuable guidance and tools, connected to safe and reliable operation of nuclear facilities, has been elaborated throughout the years within the frame of this programme. The HRP has particularly high level results in virtual-reality based tools for real-time areal and personal monitoring. The techniques, developed earlier, are now being supplemented to enhance the planning and monitoring capabilities, and support general radiological characterisation connected to nuclear sites and facilities. Due to the complexity and abundance of the input information required, software tools, dedicated to the radiological characterization of contaminated materials, buildings, land and groundwater, are applied to review, evaluate and visualize the data. Characterisation of the radiation situation in a realistic environment can be very complex, and efficient visualisation of the data to the user is not straight forward. The monitoring and planning tools elaborated in the frame of the HRP feature very sophisticated three-dimensional (3D) high definition visualisation and user interfaces to promote easy interpretation of the input data. The visualisation tools permit dynamic visualisation of radiation fields in virtual or augmented reality by various techniques and real-time personal monitoring of humanoid models. In addition new techniques are being elaborated to visualise the 3D distribution of activities in structures and materials. The dosimetric algorithms, feeding information to the visualisation and user interface of these planning tools, include deterministic radiation transport techniques suitable for fast photon dose estimates, in case physical and radio- and spectrometric characteristics of the gamma sources are known. The basic deterministic model, implemented in earlier

SAGES: a suite of freely-available software tools for electronic disease surveillance in resource-limited settings.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sheri L Lewis

Full Text Available Public health surveillance is undergoing a revolution driven by advances in the field of information technology. Many countries have experienced vast improvements in the collection, ingestion, analysis, visualization, and dissemination of public health data. Resource-limited countries have lagged behind due to challenges in information technology infrastructure, public health resources, and the costs of proprietary software. The Suite for Automated Global Electronic bioSurveillance (SAGES is a collection of modular, flexible, freely-available software tools for electronic disease surveillance in resource-limited settings. One or more SAGES tools may be used in concert with existing surveillance applications or the SAGES tools may be used en masse for an end-to-end biosurveillance capability. This flexibility allows for the development of an inexpensive, customized, and sustainable disease surveillance system. The ability to rapidly assess anomalous disease activity may lead to more efficient use of limited resources and better compliance with World Health Organization International Health Regulations.

A computer-aided software-tool for sustainable process synthesis-intensification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kumar Tula, Anjan; Babi, Deenesh K.; Bottlaender, Jack

2017-01-01

and determine within the design space, the more sustainable processes. In this paper, an integrated computer-aided software-tool that searches the design space for hybrid/intensified more sustainable process options is presented. Embedded within the software architecture are process synthesis...... operations as well as reported hybrid/intensified unit operations is large and can be difficult to manually navigate in order to determine the best process flowsheet for the production of a desired chemical product. Therefore, it is beneficial to utilize computer-aided methods and tools to enumerate, analyze...... constraints while also matching the design targets, they are therefore more sustainable than the base case. The application of the software-tool to the production of biodiesel is presented, highlighting the main features of the computer-aided, multi-stage, multi-scale methods that are able to determine more...

Westinghouse waste simulation and optimization software tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mennicken, Kim; Aign, Jorg

2013-01-01

Applications for dynamic simulation can be found in virtually all areas of process engineering. The tangible benefits of using dynamic simulation can be seen in tighter design, smoother start-ups and optimized operation. Thus, proper implementation of dynamic simulation can deliver substantial benefits. These benefits are typically derived from improved process understanding. Simulation gives confidence in evidence based decisions and enables users to try out lots of 'what if' scenarios until one is sure that a decision is the right one. In radioactive waste treatment tasks different kinds of waste with different volumes and properties have to be treated, e.g. from NPP operation or D and D activities. Finding a commercially and technically optimized waste treatment concept is a time consuming and difficult task. The Westinghouse Waste Simulation and Optimization Software Tool will enable the user to quickly generate reliable simulation models of various process applications based on equipment modules. These modules can be built with ease and be integrated into the simulation model. This capability ensures that this tool is applicable to typical waste treatment tasks. The identified waste streams and the selected treatment methods are the basis of the simulation and optimization software. After implementing suitable equipment data into the model, process requirements and waste treatment data are fed into the simulation to finally generate primary simulation results. A sensitivity analysis of automated optimization features of the software generates the lowest possible lifecycle cost for the simulated waste stream. In combination with proven waste management equipments and integrated waste management solutions, this tool provides reliable qualitative results that lead to an effective planning and minimizes the total project planning risk of any waste management activity. It is thus the ideal tool for designing a waste treatment facility in an optimum manner

Westinghouse waste simulation and optimization software tool

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mennicken, Kim; Aign, Jorg [Westinghouse Electric Germany GmbH, Hamburg (Germany)

2013-07-01

Applications for dynamic simulation can be found in virtually all areas of process engineering. The tangible benefits of using dynamic simulation can be seen in tighter design, smoother start-ups and optimized operation. Thus, proper implementation of dynamic simulation can deliver substantial benefits. These benefits are typically derived from improved process understanding. Simulation gives confidence in evidence based decisions and enables users to try out lots of 'what if' scenarios until one is sure that a decision is the right one. In radioactive waste treatment tasks different kinds of waste with different volumes and properties have to be treated, e.g. from NPP operation or D and D activities. Finding a commercially and technically optimized waste treatment concept is a time consuming and difficult task. The Westinghouse Waste Simulation and Optimization Software Tool will enable the user to quickly generate reliable simulation models of various process applications based on equipment modules. These modules can be built with ease and be integrated into the simulation model. This capability ensures that this tool is applicable to typical waste treatment tasks. The identified waste streams and the selected treatment methods are the basis of the simulation and optimization software. After implementing suitable equipment data into the model, process requirements and waste treatment data are fed into the simulation to finally generate primary simulation results. A sensitivity analysis of automated optimization features of the software generates the lowest possible lifecycle cost for the simulated waste stream. In combination with proven waste management equipments and integrated waste management solutions, this tool provides reliable qualitative results that lead to an effective planning and minimizes the total project planning risk of any waste management activity. It is thus the ideal tool for designing a waste treatment facility in an optimum manner

Three novel software tools for ASDEX Upgrade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinov, S.; Löbhard, T.; Lunt, T.; Behler, K.; Drube, R.; Eixenberger, H.; Herrmann, A.; Lohs, A.; Lüddecke, K.; Merkel, R.; Neu, G.; ASDEX Upgrade Team; MPCDF Garching

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Key features of innovative software tools for data visualization and inspection are presented to the nuclear fusion research community. • 3D animation of experiment geometry together with diagnostic data and images allow better understanding of measurements and influence of machine construction details behind them. • Multi-video viewer with fusion relevant image manipulation abilities and event database features allows faster and better decision making from video streams coming from various plasma and machine diagnostics. • Platform independant Web technologies enable the inspection of diagnostic raw signals with virtually any kind of display device. - Abstract: Visualization of measurements together with experimental settings is a general subject in experiments analysis. The complex engineering design, 3D geometry, and manifold of diagnostics in larger fusion research experiments justify the development of special analysis and visualization programs. Novel ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) software tools bring together virtual navigation through 3D device models and advanced play-back and interpretation of video streams from plasma discharges. A third little tool allows the web-based platform independent observation of real-time diagnostic signals. While all three tools stem from spontaneous development ideas and are not considered mission critical for the operation of a fusion device, they with time and growing completeness shaped up as valuable helpers to visualize acquired data in fusion research. A short overview on the goals, the features, and the design as well as the operation of these tools is given in this paper.

Three novel software tools for ASDEX Upgrade

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martinov, S. [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, D-85748 Garching bei München (Germany); Löbhard, T. [Conovum GmbH & Co. KG, Nymphenburger Straße 13, D-80335 München (Germany); Lunt, T. [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, D-85748 Garching bei München (Germany); Behler, K., E-mail: karl.behler@ipp.mpg.de [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, D-85748 Garching bei München (Germany); Drube, R.; Eixenberger, H.; Herrmann, A.; Lohs, A. [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, D-85748 Garching bei München (Germany); Lüddecke, K. [Unlimited Computer Systems GmbH, Seeshaupterstr. 15, D-82393 Iffeldorf (Germany); Merkel, R.; Neu, G.; ASDEX Upgrade Team [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, D-85748 Garching bei München (Germany); MPCDF Garching [Max Planck Compu ting and Data Facility, Boltzmannstr. 2, D-85748 Garching (Germany)

2016-11-15

Highlights: • Key features of innovative software tools for data visualization and inspection are presented to the nuclear fusion research community. • 3D animation of experiment geometry together with diagnostic data and images allow better understanding of measurements and influence of machine construction details behind them. • Multi-video viewer with fusion relevant image manipulation abilities and event database features allows faster and better decision making from video streams coming from various plasma and machine diagnostics. • Platform independant Web technologies enable the inspection of diagnostic raw signals with virtually any kind of display device. - Abstract: Visualization of measurements together with experimental settings is a general subject in experiments analysis. The complex engineering design, 3D geometry, and manifold of diagnostics in larger fusion research experiments justify the development of special analysis and visualization programs. Novel ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) software tools bring together virtual navigation through 3D device models and advanced play-back and interpretation of video streams from plasma discharges. A third little tool allows the web-based platform independent observation of real-time diagnostic signals. While all three tools stem from spontaneous development ideas and are not considered mission critical for the operation of a fusion device, they with time and growing completeness shaped up as valuable helpers to visualize acquired data in fusion research. A short overview on the goals, the features, and the design as well as the operation of these tools is given in this paper.

Use of Software Tools in Teaching Relational Database Design.

Science.gov (United States)

McIntyre, D. R.; And Others

1995-01-01

Discusses the use of state-of-the-art software tools in teaching a graduate, advanced, relational database design course. Results indicated a positive student response to the prototype of expert systems software and a willingness to utilize this new technology both in their studies and in future work applications. (JKP)

PTaaS: Platform for Providing Software Developing Applications and Tools as a Service

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chauhan, Muhammad Aufeef; Babar, Muhammad Ali

2014-01-01

technological support for it that is not limited to one specific tools and a particular phase of software development life cycle. In this thesis, we have explored the possibility of offering software development applications and tools as services that can be acquired on demand according to the software...... with process. Information gained from the review of literature on GSD tools and processes is used to extract functional requirements for the middleware platform for provisioning of software development applications and tools as services. Finding from the review of literature on architecture solutions for cloud......Cloud computing has become an established paradigm for enabling organizations to build scalable software systems and to meet challenges of rapid demand of computing and storage resources. There has been a significant success in building cloud-enabled applications for many disciplines ranging from...

A multi-objective approach for optimal prioritization of energy efficiency measures in buildings: Model, software and case studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karmellos, M.; Kiprakis, A.; Mavrotas, G.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We provide a model for prioritization of energy efficiency measures in buildings. • We examine the case of a new building and one under renovation. • Objective functions are total primary energy consumption and total investment cost. • We provide a software tool that solves this multi-objective optimization problem. • Primary energy consumption and investment cost are inversely proportional. - Abstract: Buildings are responsible for some 40% of the total final energy consumption in the European Union and about 40% of the world’s primary energy consumption. Hence, the reduction of primary energy consumption is important for the overall energy chain. The scope of the current work is to assess the energy efficiency measures in the residential and small commercial sector and to develop a methodology and a software tool for their optimal prioritization. The criteria used for the prioritization of energy efficiency measures in this article are the primary energy consumption and the initial investment cost. The developed methodology used is generic and could be implemented in the case of a new building or retrofitting an existing building. A multi-objective mixed-integer non-linear problem (MINLP) needs to be solved and the weighted sum method is used. Moreover, the novelty of this work is that a software tool has been developed using ‘Matlab®’ which is generic, very simple and time efficient and can be used by a Decision Maker (DM). Two case studies have been developed, one for a new building and one for retrofitting an existing one, in two cities with different climate characteristics. The building was placed in Edinburgh in the UK and Athens in Greece and the analysis showed that the primary energy consumption and the initial investment cost are inversely proportional

Performance analysis and optimization of an advanced pharmaceutical wastewater treatment plant through a visual basic software tool (PWWT.VB).

Science.gov (United States)

Pal, Parimal; Thakura, Ritwik; Chakrabortty, Sankha

2016-05-01

A user-friendly, menu-driven simulation software tool has been developed for the first time to optimize and analyze the system performance of an advanced continuous membrane-integrated pharmaceutical wastewater treatment plant. The software allows pre-analysis and manipulation of input data which helps in optimization and shows the software performance visually on a graphical platform. Moreover, the software helps the user to "visualize" the effects of the operating parameters through its model-predicted output profiles. The software is based on a dynamic mathematical model, developed for a systematically integrated forward osmosis-nanofiltration process for removal of toxic organic compounds from pharmaceutical wastewater. The model-predicted values have been observed to corroborate well with the extensive experimental investigations which were found to be consistent under varying operating conditions like operating pressure, operating flow rate, and draw solute concentration. Low values of the relative error (RE = 0.09) and high values of Willmott-d-index (d will = 0.981) reflected a high degree of accuracy and reliability of the software. This software is likely to be a very efficient tool for system design or simulation of an advanced membrane-integrated treatment plant for hazardous wastewater.

Knickpoint finder: A software tool that improves neotectonic analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Queiroz, G. L.; Salamuni, E.; Nascimento, E. R.

2015-03-01

This work presents a new software tool for morphometric analysis of drainage networks based on the methods of Hack (1973) and Etchebehere et al. (2004). This tool is applicable to studies of morphotectonics and neotectonics. The software used a digital elevation model (DEM) to identify the relief breakpoints along drainage profiles (knickpoints). The program was coded in Python for use on the ArcGIS platform and is called Knickpoint Finder. A study area was selected to test and evaluate the software's ability to analyze and identify neotectonic morphostructures based on the morphology of the terrain. For an assessment of its validity, we chose an area of the James River basin, which covers most of the Piedmont area of Virginia (USA), which is an area of constant intraplate seismicity and non-orogenic active tectonics and exhibits a relatively homogeneous geodesic surface currently being altered by the seismogenic features of the region. After using the tool in the chosen area, we found that the knickpoint locations are associated with the geologic structures, epicenters of recent earthquakes, and drainages with rectilinear anomalies. The regional analysis demanded the use of a spatial representation of the data after processing using Knickpoint Finder. The results were satisfactory in terms of the correlation of dense areas of knickpoints with active lineaments and the rapidity of the identification of deformed areas. Therefore, this software tool may be considered useful in neotectonic analyses of large areas and may be applied to any area where there is DEM coverage.

The Value of Open Source Software Tools in Qualitative Research

Science.gov (United States)

Greenberg, Gary

2011-01-01

In an era of global networks, researchers using qualitative methods must consider the impact of any software they use on the sharing of data and findings. In this essay, I identify researchers' main areas of concern regarding the use of qualitative software packages for research. I then examine how open source software tools, wherein the publisher…

Biology Needs Evolutionary Software Tools: Let’s Build Them Right

Science.gov (United States)

Team, Galaxy; Goecks, Jeremy; Taylor, James

2018-01-01

Abstract Research in population genetics and evolutionary biology has always provided a computational backbone for life sciences as a whole. Today evolutionary and population biology reasoning are essential for interpretation of large complex datasets that are characteristic of all domains of today’s life sciences ranging from cancer biology to microbial ecology. This situation makes algorithms and software tools developed by our community more important than ever before. This means that we, developers of software tool for molecular evolutionary analyses, now have a shared responsibility to make these tools accessible using modern technological developments as well as provide adequate documentation and training. PMID:29688462

PAnalyzer: A software tool for protein inference in shotgun proteomics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prieto Gorka

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Protein inference from peptide identifications in shotgun proteomics must deal with ambiguities that arise due to the presence of peptides shared between different proteins, which is common in higher eukaryotes. Recently data independent acquisition (DIA approaches have emerged as an alternative to the traditional data dependent acquisition (DDA in shotgun proteomics experiments. MSE is the term used to name one of the DIA approaches used in QTOF instruments. MSE data require specialized software to process acquired spectra and to perform peptide and protein identifications. However the software available at the moment does not group the identified proteins in a transparent way by taking into account peptide evidence categories. Furthermore the inspection, comparison and report of the obtained results require tedious manual intervention. Here we report a software tool to address these limitations for MSE data. Results In this paper we present PAnalyzer, a software tool focused on the protein inference process of shotgun proteomics. Our approach considers all the identified proteins and groups them when necessary indicating their confidence using different evidence categories. PAnalyzer can read protein identification files in the XML output format of the ProteinLynx Global Server (PLGS software provided by Waters Corporation for their MSE data, and also in the mzIdentML format recently standardized by HUPO-PSI. Multiple files can also be read simultaneously and are considered as technical replicates. Results are saved to CSV, HTML and mzIdentML (in the case of a single mzIdentML input file files. An MSE analysis of a real sample is presented to compare the results of PAnalyzer and ProteinLynx Global Server. Conclusions We present a software tool to deal with the ambiguities that arise in the protein inference process. Key contributions are support for MSE data analysis by ProteinLynx Global Server and technical replicates

Lean and Efficient Software: Whole Program Optimization of Executables

Science.gov (United States)

2016-12-31

19b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (Include area code) 12/31/2016 Final Technical Report (Phase I - Base Period) 30-06-2014 - 31-12-2016 Lean and Efficient...Software: Whole-Program Optimization of Executables Final Report Evan Driscoll Tom Johnson GrammaTech, Inc. 531 Esty Street Ithaca, NY 14850 Office of...hardening U U U UU 30 Tom Johnson (607) 273-7340 x.134 Page 1 of 30 “ Lean and Efficient Software: Whole-Program Optimization of Executables

Software engineering techniques and CASE tools in RD13

Science.gov (United States)

Buono, S.; Gaponenko, I.; Jones, R.; Khodabandeh, A.; Mapelli, L.; Mornacchi, G.; Prigent, D.; Sanchez-Corral, E.; Skiadelli, M.; Toppers, A.; Duval, P. Y.; Ferrato, D.; Le Van Suu, A.; Qian, Z.; Rondot, C.; Ambrosini, G.; Fumagalli, G.; Polesello, G.; Aguer, M.; Huet, M.

1994-12-01

The RD13 project was approved in April 1991 for the development of a scalable data-taking system suitable for hosting various LHC studies. One of its goals is the exploitation of software engineering techniques, in order to indicate their overall suitability for data acquisition (DAQ), software design and implementation. This paper describes how such techniques have been applied to the development of components of the RD13 DAQ used in test-beam runs at CERN. We describe our experience with the Artifex CASE tool and its associated methodology. The issues raised when code generated by a CASE tool has to be integrated into an existing environment are also discussed.

A software tool for design of process monitoring and analysis systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Singh, Ravendra; Gernaey, Krist; Gani, Rafiqul

2009-01-01

A well designed process monitoring and analysis system is necessary to consistently achieve any predefined end product quality. Systematic computer aided methods and tools provide the means to design the necessary process monitoring and analysis systems and/or to validate any existing monitoring...... and analysis system. A software to achieve this has been developed. Two developed supporting tools for the design, a knowledge base (consisting of the process knowledge as well as the knowledge on measurement methods & tools) and a model library (consisting of the process operational models) have been extended...... rigorously and integrated with the user interface, which made the software more generic and applicable to a wide range of problems. The software for the design of a process monitoring and analysis system is presented and illustrated with a tablet manufacturing process example....

Fighting Software Piracy: Some Global Conditional Policy Instruments

OpenAIRE

Asongu, Simplice A; Singh, Pritam; Le Roux, Sara

2016-01-01

This study examines the efficiency of tools for fighting software piracy in the conditional distributions of software piracy. Our paper examines software piracy in 99 countries for the period 1994-2010, using contemporary and non-contemporary quantile regressions. The intuition for modelling distributions contingent on existing levels of software piracy is that the effectiveness of tools against piracy may consistently decrease or increase simultaneously with increasing levels of software pir...

Design of parametric software tools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sabra, Jakob Borrits; Mullins, Michael

2011-01-01

The studies investigate the field of evidence-based design used in architectural design practice and propose a method using 2D/3D CAD applications to: 1) enhance integration of evidence-based design knowledge in architectural design phases with a focus on lighting and interior design and 2) assess...... fulfilment of evidence-based design criterion regarding light distribution and location in relation to patient safety in architectural health care design proposals. The study uses 2D/3D CAD modelling software Rhinoceros 3D with plug-in Grasshopper to create parametric tool prototypes to exemplify...... the operations and functions of the design method. To evaluate the prototype potentials, surveys with architectural and healthcare design companies are conducted. Evaluation is done by the administration of questionnaires being part of the development of the tools. The results show that architects, designers...

Innovative Software Algorithms and Tools parallel sessions summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaines, Irwin

2001-01-01

A variety of results were presented in the poster and 5 parallel sessions of the Innovative Software, Algorithms and Tools (ISAT) sessions. I will briefly summarize these presentations and attempt to identify some unifying trends

Empirical Evaluation of Two Best-Practices for Energy-Efficient Software Development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Procaccianti, G.; Fernandez, H.J.; Lago, P.

2016-01-01

Background. Energy efficiency is an increasingly important property of software. A large number of empirical studies have been conducted on the topic. However, current state-of-the-Art does not provide empirically-validated guidelines for developing energy-efficient software. Aim. This study aims at

Software Tools Streamline Project Management

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

Three innovative software inventions from Ames Research Center (NETMARK, Program Management Tool, and Query-Based Document Management) are finding their way into NASA missions as well as industry applications. The first, NETMARK, is a program that enables integrated searching of data stored in a variety of databases and documents, meaning that users no longer have to look in several places for related information. NETMARK allows users to search and query information across all of these sources in one step. This cross-cutting capability in information analysis has exponentially reduced the amount of time needed to mine data from days or weeks to mere seconds. NETMARK has been used widely throughout NASA, enabling this automatic integration of information across many documents and databases. NASA projects that use NETMARK include the internal reporting system and project performance dashboard, Erasmus, NASA s enterprise management tool, which enhances organizational collaboration and information sharing through document routing and review; the Integrated Financial Management Program; International Space Station Knowledge Management; Mishap and Anomaly Information Reporting System; and management of the Mars Exploration Rovers. Approximately $1 billion worth of NASA s projects are currently managed using Program Management Tool (PMT), which is based on NETMARK. PMT is a comprehensive, Web-enabled application tool used to assist program and project managers within NASA enterprises in monitoring, disseminating, and tracking the progress of program and project milestones and other relevant resources. The PMT consists of an integrated knowledge repository built upon advanced enterprise-wide database integration techniques and the latest Web-enabled technologies. The current system is in a pilot operational mode allowing users to automatically manage, track, define, update, and view customizable milestone objectives and goals. The third software invention, Query

Improving design processes through structured reflection : a prototype software tool

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reymen, I.M.M.J.; Melby, E.

2001-01-01

A prototype software tool facilitating the use of a design method supporting structured reflection on design processes is presented. The prototype, called Echo, has been developed to explore the benefits of using a software system to facilitate the use of the design method. Both the prototype

Development of Efficient Authoring Software for e-Learning Contents

Science.gov (United States)

Kozono, Kazutake; Teramoto, Akemi; Akiyama, Hidenori

The contents creation in e-Learning system becomes an important problem. The contents of e-Learning should include figure and voice media for a high-level educational effect. However, the use of figure and voice complicates the operation of authoring software considerably. A new authoring software, which can build e-Learning contents efficiently, has been developed to solve this problem. This paper reports development results of the authoring software.

Atrioventricular junction (AVJ) motion tracking: a software tool with ITK/VTK/Qt.

Science.gov (United States)

Pengdong Xiao; Shuang Leng; Xiaodan Zhao; Hua Zou; Ru San Tan; Wong, Philip; Liang Zhong

2016-08-01

The quantitative measurement of the Atrioventricular Junction (AVJ) motion is an important index for ventricular functions of one cardiac cycle including systole and diastole. In this paper, a software tool that can conduct AVJ motion tracking from cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) images is presented by using Insight Segmentation and Registration Toolkit (ITK), The Visualization Toolkit (VTK) and Qt. The software tool is written in C++ by using Visual Studio Community 2013 integrated development environment (IDE) containing both an editor and a Microsoft complier. The software package has been successfully implemented. From the software engineering practice, it is concluded that ITK, VTK, and Qt are very handy software systems to implement automatic image analysis functions for CMR images such as quantitative measure of motion by visual tracking.

A Web-based modeling tool for the SEMAT Essence theory of software engineering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Graziotin

2013-09-01

Full Text Available As opposed to more mature subjects, software engineering lacks general theories that establish its foundations as a discipline. The Essence Theory of software engineering (Essence has been proposed by the Software Engineering Methods and Theory (SEMAT initiative. The goal of Essence is to develop a theoretically sound basis for software engineering practice and its wide adoption. However, Essence is far from reaching academic- and industry-wide adoption. The reasons for this include a struggle to foresee its utilization potential and a lack of tools for implementation. SEMAT Accelerator (SematAcc is a Web-positioning tool for a software engineering endeavor, which implements the SEMAT’s Essence kernel. SematAcc permits the use of Essence, thus helping to understand it. The tool enables the teaching, adoption, and research of Essence in controlled experiments and case studies.

PT-SAFE: a software tool for development and annunciation of medical audible alarms.

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Christopher L; McNeer, Richard R

2012-03-01

Recent reports by The Joint Commission as well as the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation have indicated that medical audible alarm effectiveness needs to be improved. Several recent studies have explored various approaches to improving the audible alarms, motivating the authors to develop real-time software capable of comparing such alarms. We sought to devise software that would allow for the development of a variety of audible alarm designs that could also integrate into existing operating room equipment configurations. The software is meant to be used as a tool for alarm researchers to quickly evaluate novel alarm designs. A software tool was developed for the purpose of creating and annunciating audible alarms. The alarms consisted of annunciators that were mapped to vital sign data received from a patient monitor. An object-oriented approach to software design was used to create a tool that is flexible and modular at run-time, can annunciate wave-files from disk, and can be programmed with MATLAB by the user to create custom alarm algorithms. The software was tested in a simulated operating room to measure technical performance and to validate the time-to-annunciation against existing equipment alarms. The software tool showed efficacy in a simulated operating room environment by providing alarm annunciation in response to physiologic and ventilator signals generated by a human patient simulator, on average 6.2 seconds faster than existing equipment alarms. Performance analysis showed that the software was capable of supporting up to 15 audible alarms on a mid-grade laptop computer before audio dropouts occurred. These results suggest that this software tool provides a foundation for rapidly staging multiple audible alarm sets from the laboratory to a simulation environment for the purpose of evaluating novel alarm designs, thus producing valuable findings for medical audible alarm standardization.

New software tools for enhanced precision in robot-assisted laser phonomicrosurgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Dagnino, Giulio; Mattos, Leonardo S; Caldwell, Darwin G

2012-01-01

This paper describes a new software package created to enhance precision during robot-assisted laser phonomicrosurgery procedures. The new software is composed of three tools for camera calibration, automatic tumor segmentation, and laser tracking. These were designed and developed to improve the outcome of this demanding microsurgical technique, and were tested herein to produce quantitative performance data. The experimental setup was based on the motorized laser micromanipulator created by Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia and the experimental protocols followed are fully described in this paper. The results show the new tools are robust and effective: The camera calibration tool reduced residual errors (RMSE) to 0.009 ± 0.002 mm under 40× microscope magnification; the automatic tumor segmentation tool resulted in deep lesion segmentations comparable to manual segmentations (RMSE= 0.160 ± 0.028 mm under 40× magnification); and the laser tracker tool proved to be reliable even during cutting procedures (RMSE= 0.073 ± 0.023 mm under 40× magnification). These results demonstrate the new software package can provide excellent improvements to the previous microsurgical system, leading to important enhancements in surgical outcome.

Transition Towards Energy Efficient Machine Tools

CERN Document Server

Zein, André

2012-01-01

Energy efficiency represents a cost-effective and immediate strategy of a sustainable development. Due to substantial environmental and economic implications, a strong emphasis is put on the electrical energy requirements of machine tools for metalworking processes. The improvement of energy efficiency is however confronted with diverse barriers, which sustain an energy efficiency gap of unexploited potential. The deficiencies lie in the lack of information about the actual energy requirements of machine tools, a minimum energy reference to quantify improvement potential and the possible actions to improve the energy demand. Therefore, a comprehensive concept for energy performance management of machine tools is developed which guides the transition towards energy efficient machine tools. It is structured in four innovative concept modules, which are embedded into step-by-step workflow models. The capability of the performance management concept is demonstrated in an automotive manufacturing environment. The ...

A multi-center study benchmarks software tools for label-free proteome quantification

Science.gov (United States)

Gillet, Ludovic C; Bernhardt, Oliver M.; MacLean, Brendan; Röst, Hannes L.; Tate, Stephen A.; Tsou, Chih-Chiang; Reiter, Lukas; Distler, Ute; Rosenberger, George; Perez-Riverol, Yasset; Nesvizhskii, Alexey I.; Aebersold, Ruedi; Tenzer, Stefan

2016-01-01

The consistent and accurate quantification of proteins by mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics depends on the performance of instruments, acquisition methods and data analysis software. In collaboration with the software developers, we evaluated OpenSWATH, SWATH2.0, Skyline, Spectronaut and DIA-Umpire, five of the most widely used software methods for processing data from SWATH-MS (sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment ion spectra), a method that uses data-independent acquisition (DIA) for label-free protein quantification. We analyzed high-complexity test datasets from hybrid proteome samples of defined quantitative composition acquired on two different MS instruments using different SWATH isolation windows setups. For consistent evaluation we developed LFQbench, an R-package to calculate metrics of precision and accuracy in label-free quantitative MS, and report the identification performance, robustness and specificity of each software tool. Our reference datasets enabled developers to improve their software tools. After optimization, all tools provided highly convergent identification and reliable quantification performance, underscoring their robustness for label-free quantitative proteomics. PMID:27701404

Software Tools for Fault Management Technologies, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Fault Management (FM) is a key requirement for safety, efficient onboard and ground operations, maintenance, and repair. QSI's TEAMS Software suite is a leading...

Software Tools for Measuring and Calculating Electromagnetic Shielding Effectiveness

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Tesny, Neal

2005-01-01

The evaluation and the analysis of high-altitude electromagnetic pulse response of shielded enclosures require the availability of software tools able to acquire data and calculate shielding effectiveness...

ProteoWizard: open source software for rapid proteomics tools development.

Science.gov (United States)

Kessner, Darren; Chambers, Matt; Burke, Robert; Agus, David; Mallick, Parag

2008-11-01

The ProteoWizard software project provides a modular and extensible set of open-source, cross-platform tools and libraries. The tools perform proteomics data analyses; the libraries enable rapid tool creation by providing a robust, pluggable development framework that simplifies and unifies data file access, and performs standard proteomics and LCMS dataset computations. The library contains readers and writers of the mzML data format, which has been written using modern C++ techniques and design principles and supports a variety of platforms with native compilers. The software has been specifically released under the Apache v2 license to ensure it can be used in both academic and commercial projects. In addition to the library, we also introduce a rapidly growing set of companion tools whose implementation helps to illustrate the simplicity of developing applications on top of the ProteoWizard library. Cross-platform software that compiles using native compilers (i.e. GCC on Linux, MSVC on Windows and XCode on OSX) is available for download free of charge, at http://proteowizard.sourceforge.net. This website also provides code examples, and documentation. It is our hope the ProteoWizard project will become a standard platform for proteomics development; consequently, code use, contribution and further development are strongly encouraged.

Proceedings of the Workshop on software tools for distributed intelligent control systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herget, C.J. (ed.)

1990-09-01

The Workshop on Software Tools for Distributed Intelligent Control Systems was organized by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the United States Army Headquarters Training and Doctrine Command and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The goals of the workshop were to the identify the current state of the art in tools which support control systems engineering design and implementation, identify research issues associated with writing software tools which would provide a design environment to assist engineers in multidisciplinary control design and implementation, formulate a potential investment strategy to resolve the research issues and develop public domain code which can form the core of more powerful engineering design tools, and recommend test cases to focus the software development process and test associated performance metrics. Recognizing that the development of software tools for distributed intelligent control systems will require a multidisciplinary effort, experts in systems engineering, control systems engineering, and compute science were invited to participate in the workshop. In particular, experts who could address the following topics were selected: operating systems, engineering data representation and manipulation, emerging standards for manufacturing data, mathematical foundations, coupling of symbolic and numerical computation, user interface, system identification, system representation at different levels of abstraction, system specification, system design, verification and validation, automatic code generation, and integration of modular, reusable code.

COSTMODL - AN AUTOMATED SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT COST ESTIMATION TOOL

Science.gov (United States)

Roush, G. B.

1994-01-01

The cost of developing computer software consumes an increasing portion of many organizations' budgets. As this trend continues, the capability to estimate the effort and schedule required to develop a candidate software product becomes increasingly important. COSTMODL is an automated software development estimation tool which fulfills this need. Assimilating COSTMODL to any organization's particular environment can yield significant reduction in the risk of cost overruns and failed projects. This user-customization capability is unmatched by any other available estimation tool. COSTMODL accepts a description of a software product to be developed and computes estimates of the effort required to produce it, the calendar schedule required, and the distribution of effort and staffing as a function of the defined set of development life-cycle phases. This is accomplished by the five cost estimation algorithms incorporated into COSTMODL: the NASA-developed KISS model; the Basic, Intermediate, and Ada COCOMO models; and the Incremental Development model. This choice affords the user the ability to handle project complexities ranging from small, relatively simple projects to very large projects. Unique to COSTMODL is the ability to redefine the life-cycle phases of development and the capability to display a graphic representation of the optimum organizational structure required to develop the subject project, along with required staffing levels and skills. The program is menu-driven and mouse sensitive with an extensive context-sensitive help system that makes it possible for a new user to easily install and operate the program and to learn the fundamentals of cost estimation without having prior training or separate documentation. The implementation of these functions, along with the customization feature, into one program makes COSTMODL unique within the industry. COSTMODL was written for IBM PC compatibles, and it requires Turbo Pascal 5.0 or later and Turbo

Software tools for the particle accelerator designs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugimoto, Masayoshi

1988-01-01

The software tools used for the designs of the particle accelerators are going to be implemented on the small computer systems, such as the personal computers or the work stations. These are called from the interactive environment like a window application program. The environment contains the small expert system to make easy to select the design parameters. (author)

Transition towards energy efficient machine tools

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zein, Andre [Technische Univ. Braunschweig (Germany). Inst. fuer Werkzeugmaschinen und Fertigungstechnik

2012-07-01

Provides unique data about industrial trends affecting the energy demand of machine tools. Presents a comprehensive methodology to assess the energy efficiency of machining processes. Contains an integrated management concept to implement energy performance measures into existing industrial systems. Includes an industrial case study with two exemplary applications. Energy efficiency represents a cost-effective and immediate strategy of a sustainable development. Due to substantial environmental and economic implications, a strong emphasis is put on the electrical energy requirements of machine tools for metalworking processes. The improvement of energy efficiency is however confronted with diverse barriers, which sustain an energy efficiency gap of unexploited potential. The deficiencies lie in the lack of information about the actual energy requirements of machine tools, a minimum energy reference to quantify improvement potential and the possible actions to improve the energy demand. Therefore, a comprehensive concept for energy performance management of machine tools is developed which guides the transition towards energy efficient machine tools. It is structured in four innovative concept modules, which are embedded into step-by-step workflow models. The capability of the performance management concept is demonstrated in an automotive manufacturing environment. The target audience primarily comprises researchers and practitioners challenged to enhance energy efficiency in manufacturing. The book may also be beneficial for graduate students who want to specialize in this field.

Benchmarking State-of-the-Art Deep Learning Software Tools

OpenAIRE

Shi, Shaohuai; Wang, Qiang; Xu, Pengfei; Chu, Xiaowen

2016-01-01

Deep learning has been shown as a successful machine learning method for a variety of tasks, and its popularity results in numerous open-source deep learning software tools. Training a deep network is usually a very time-consuming process. To address the computational challenge in deep learning, many tools exploit hardware features such as multi-core CPUs and many-core GPUs to shorten the training time. However, different tools exhibit different features and running performance when training ...

Exoskeletons, Robots and System Software: Tools for the Warfighter

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-24

Exoskeletons , Robots and System Software: Tools for the Warfighter? Paul Flanagan, Tuesday, April 24, 2012 11:15 am– 12:00 pm 1 “The views...Emerging technologies such as exoskeletons , robots , drones, and the underlying software are and will change the face of the battlefield. Warfighters will...global hub for educating, informing, and connecting Information Age leaders.” What is an exoskeleton ? An exoskeleton is a wearable robot suit that

A software tool for analyzing multichannel cochlear implant signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Wai Kong; Bögli, Hans; Dillier, Norbert

2003-10-01

A useful and convenient means to analyze the radio frequency (RF) signals being sent by a speech processor to a cochlear implant would be to actually capture and display them with appropriate software. This is particularly useful for development or diagnostic purposes. sCILab (Swiss Cochlear Implant Laboratory) is such a PC-based software tool intended for the Nucleus family of Multichannel Cochlear Implants. Its graphical user interface provides a convenient and intuitive means for visualizing and analyzing the signals encoding speech information. Both numerical and graphic displays are available for detailed examination of the captured CI signals, as well as an acoustic simulation of these CI signals. sCILab has been used in the design and verification of new speech coding strategies, and has also been applied as an analytical tool in studies of how different parameter settings of existing speech coding strategies affect speech perception. As a diagnostic tool, it is also useful for troubleshooting problems with the external equipment of the cochlear implant systems.

Classifying Desirable Features of Software Visualization Tools for Corrective Maintenance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sensalire, Mariam; Ogao, Patrick; Telea, Alexandru

2008-01-01

We provide an evaluation of 15 software visualization tools applicable to corrective maintenance. The tasks supported as well as the techniques used are presented and graded based on the support level. By analyzing user acceptation of current tools, we aim to help developers to select what to

An online database for plant image analysis software tools

OpenAIRE

Lobet, Guillaume; Draye, Xavier; Périlleux, Claire

2013-01-01

Background: Recent years have seen an increase in methods for plant phenotyping using image analyses. These methods require new software solutions for data extraction and treatment. These solutions are instrumental in supporting various research pipelines, ranging from the localisation of cellular compounds to the quantification of tree canopies. However, due to the variety of existing tools and the lack of central repository, it is challenging for researchers to identify the software that is...

Software Engineering Environment for Component-based Design of Embedded Software

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guo, Yu

2010-01-01

as well as application models in a computer-aided software engineering environment. Furthermore, component models have been realized following carefully developed design patterns, which provide for an efficient and reusable implementation. The components have been ultimately implemented as prefabricated...... executable objects that can be linked together into an executable application. The development of embedded software using the COMDES framework is supported by the associated integrated engineering environment consisting of a number of tools, which support basic functionalities, such as system modelling......, validation, and executable code generation for specific hardware platforms. Developing such an environment and the associated tools is a highly complex engineering task. Therefore, this thesis has investigated key design issues and analysed existing platforms supporting model-driven software development...

ISWHM: Tools and Techniques for Software and System Health Management

Science.gov (United States)

Schumann, Johann; Mengshoel, Ole J.; Darwiche, Adnan

2010-01-01

This presentation presents status and results of research on Software Health Management done within the NRA "ISWHM: Tools and Techniques for Software and System Health Management." Topics include: Ingredients of a Guidance, Navigation, and Control System (GN and C); Selected GN and C Testbed example; Health Management of major ingredients; ISWHM testbed architecture; and Conclusions and next Steps.

Accuracy Test of Software Architecture Compliance Checking Tools – Test Instruction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pruijt, Leo; van der Werf, J.M.E.M.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/36950674X; Brinkkemper., Sjaak|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/07500707X

2015-01-01

Software Architecture Compliance Checking (SACC) is an approach to verify conformance of implemented program code to high-level models of architectural design. Static SACC focuses on the modular software architecture and on the existence of rule violating dependencies between modules. Accurate tool

Choosing your weapons : on sentiment analysis tools for software engineering research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jongeling, R.M.; Datta, S.; Serebrenik, A.; Koschke, R.; Krinke, J.; Robillard, M.

2015-01-01

Recent years have seen an increasing attention to social aspects of software engineering, including studies of emotions and sentiments experienced and expressed by the software developers. Most of these studies reuse existing sentiment analysis tools such as SentiStrength and NLTK. However, these

Energy efficiency assessment methods and tools evaluation. Bolling Air Force Base. Revision 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McMordie, K.L.; Richman, E.E.; Keller, J.M.; Dixon, D.R.

1995-05-01

The goal of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) is to facilitate energy-efficiency improvements at federal facilities. This is accomplished by a balanced program of technology development, facility assessment, and use of cost-sharing procurement mechanisms. Technology development focuses upon the tools, software, and procedures used to identify and evaluate energy-efficiency technologies and improvements. For facility assessment, FEMP provides metering equipment and trained analysts to federal agencies exhibiting a commitment to improve energy use efficiency. To assist in procurement of energy-efficiency measures, FEMP helps federal agencies devise and implement performance contracting and utility demand-side management strategies. Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) supports the FEMP mission of energy systems modernization. Under this charter, the Laboratory and its contractors work with federal facility energy managers to assess and implement energy-efficiency improvements at federal facilities nationwide.

An evaluation of software tools for the design and development of cockpit displays

Science.gov (United States)

Ellis, Thomas D., Jr.

1993-01-01

The use of all-glass cockpits at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) simulation facility has changed the means of design, development, and maintenance of instrument displays. The human-machine interface has evolved from a physical hardware device to a software-generated electronic display system. This has subsequently caused an increased workload at the facility. As computer processing power increases and the glass cockpit becomes predominant in facilities, software tools used in the design and development of cockpit displays are becoming both feasible and necessary for a more productive simulation environment. This paper defines LaRC requirements of a display software development tool and compares two available applications against these requirements. As a part of the software engineering process, these tools reduce development time, provide a common platform for display development, and produce exceptional real-time results.

TEST (Toxicity Estimation Software Tool) Ver 4.1

Science.gov (United States)

The Toxicity Estimation Software Tool (T.E.S.T.) has been developed to allow users to easily estimate toxicity and physical properties using a variety of QSAR methodologies. T.E.S.T allows a user to estimate toxicity without requiring any external programs. Users can input a chem...

Development of tools for safety analysis of control software in advanced reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guarro, S.; Yau, M.; Motamed, M.

1996-04-01

Software based control systems have gained a pervasive presence in a wide variety of applications, including nuclear power plant control and protection systems which are within the oversight and licensing responsibility of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. While the cost effectiveness and flexibility of software based plant process control is widely recognized, it is very difficult to achieve and prove high levels of demonstrated dependability and safety assurance for the functions performed by process control software, due to the very flexibility and potential complexity of the software itself. The development of tools to model, analyze and test software design and implementations in the context of the system that the software is designed to control can greatly assist the task of providing higher levels of assurance than those obtainable by software testing alone. This report presents and discusses the development of the Dynamic Flowgraph Methodology (DFM) and its application in the dependability and assurance analysis of software-based control systems. The features of the methodology and full-scale examples of application to both generic process and nuclear power plant control systems are presented and discussed in detail. The features of a workstation software tool developed to assist users in the application of DFM are also described

Development of tools for safety analysis of control software in advanced reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guarro, S.; Yau, M.; Motamed, M. [Advanced Systems Concepts Associates, El Segundo, CA (United States)

1996-04-01

Software based control systems have gained a pervasive presence in a wide variety of applications, including nuclear power plant control and protection systems which are within the oversight and licensing responsibility of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. While the cost effectiveness and flexibility of software based plant process control is widely recognized, it is very difficult to achieve and prove high levels of demonstrated dependability and safety assurance for the functions performed by process control software, due to the very flexibility and potential complexity of the software itself. The development of tools to model, analyze and test software design and implementations in the context of the system that the software is designed to control can greatly assist the task of providing higher levels of assurance than those obtainable by software testing alone. This report presents and discusses the development of the Dynamic Flowgraph Methodology (DFM) and its application in the dependability and assurance analysis of software-based control systems. The features of the methodology and full-scale examples of application to both generic process and nuclear power plant control systems are presented and discussed in detail. The features of a workstation software tool developed to assist users in the application of DFM are also described.

An Open-Source Tool Set Enabling Analog-Digital-Software Co-Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michelle Collins

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an analog-digital hardware-software co-design environment for simulating and programming reconfigurable systems. The tool simulates, designs, as well as enables experimental measurements after compiling to configurable systems in the same integrated design tool framework. High level software in Scilab/Xcos (open-source programs similar to MATLAB/Simulink that converts the high-level block description by the user to blif format (sci2blif, which acts as an input to the modified VPR tool, including the code v p r 2 s w c s , encoding the specific platform through specific architecture files, resulting in a targetable switch list on the resulting configurable analog–digital system. The resulting tool uses an analog and mixed-signal library of components, enabling users and future researchers access to the basic analog operations/computations that are possible.

Evaluating a digital ship design tool prototype: Designers' perceptions of novel ergonomics software.

Science.gov (United States)

Mallam, Steven C; Lundh, Monica; MacKinnon, Scott N

2017-03-01

Computer-aided solutions are essential for naval architects to manage and optimize technical complexities when developing a ship's design. Although there are an array of software solutions aimed to optimize the human element in design, practical ergonomics methodologies and technological solutions have struggled to gain widespread application in ship design processes. This paper explores how a new ergonomics technology is perceived by naval architecture students using a mixed-methods framework. Thirteen Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering Masters students participated in the study. Overall, results found participants perceived the software and its embedded ergonomics tools to benefit their design work, increasing their empathy and ability to understand the work environment and work demands end-users face. However, participant's questioned if ergonomics could be practically and efficiently implemented under real-world project constraints. This revealed underlying social biases and a fundamental lack of understanding in engineering postgraduate students regarding applied ergonomics in naval architecture. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated Software Acceleration in Programmable Logic for an Efficient NFFT Algorithm Implementation: A Case Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez, Manuel; Magdaleno, Eduardo; Pérez, Fernando; García, Cristhian

2017-03-28

Non-equispaced Fast Fourier transform (NFFT) is a very important algorithm in several technological and scientific areas such as synthetic aperture radar, computational photography, medical imaging, telecommunications, seismic analysis and so on. However, its computation complexity is high. In this paper, we describe an efficient NFFT implementation with a hardware coprocessor using an All-Programmable System-on-Chip (APSoC). This is a hybrid device that employs an Advanced RISC Machine (ARM) as Processing System with Programmable Logic for high-performance digital signal processing through parallelism and pipeline techniques. The algorithm has been coded in C language with pragma directives to optimize the architecture of the system. We have used the very novel Software Develop System-on-Chip (SDSoC) evelopment tool that simplifies the interface and partitioning between hardware and software. This provides shorter development cycles and iterative improvements by exploring several architectures of the global system. The computational results shows that hardware acceleration significantly outperformed the software based implementation.

Software tool for resolution of inverse problems using artificial intelligence techniques: an application in neutron spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castaneda M, V. H.; Martinez B, M. R.; Solis S, L. O.; Castaneda M, R.; Leon P, A. A.; Hernandez P, C. F.; Espinoza G, J. G.; Ortiz R, J. M.; Vega C, H. R.; Mendez, R.; Gallego, E.; Sousa L, M. A.

2016-10-01

The Taguchi methodology has proved to be highly efficient to solve inverse problems, in which the values of some parameters of the model must be obtained from the observed data. There are intrinsic mathematical characteristics that make a problem known as inverse. Inverse problems appear in many branches of science, engineering and mathematics. To solve this type of problem, researches have used different techniques. Recently, the use of techniques based on Artificial Intelligence technology is being explored by researches. This paper presents the use of a software tool based on artificial neural networks of generalized regression in the solution of inverse problems with application in high energy physics, specifically in the solution of the problem of neutron spectrometry. To solve this problem we use a software tool developed in the Mat Lab programming environment, which employs a friendly user interface, intuitive and easy to use for the user. This computational tool solves the inverse problem involved in the reconstruction of the neutron spectrum based on measurements made with a Bonner spheres spectrometric system. Introducing this information, the neural network is able to reconstruct the neutron spectrum with high performance and generalization capability. The tool allows that the end user does not require great training or technical knowledge in development and/or use of software, so it facilitates the use of the program for the resolution of inverse problems that are in several areas of knowledge. The techniques of Artificial Intelligence present singular veracity to solve inverse problems, given the characteristics of artificial neural networks and their network topology, therefore, the tool developed has been very useful, since the results generated by the Artificial Neural Network require few time in comparison to other techniques and are correct results comparing them with the actual data of the experiment. (Author)

A Reference Architecture for Providing Tools as a Service to Support Global Software Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chauhan, Aufeef

2014-01-01

-computing paradigm for addressing above-mentioned issues by providing a framework to select appropriate tools as well as associated services and reference architecture of the cloud-enabled middleware platform that allows on demand provisioning of software engineering Tools as a Service (TaaS) with focus......Global Software Development (GSD) teams encounter challenges that are associated with distribution of software development activities across multiple geographic regions. The limited support for performing collaborative development and engineering activities and lack of sufficient support......-based solutions. The restricted ability of the organizations to have desired alignment of tools with software engineering and development processes results in administrative and managerial overhead that incur increased development cost and poor product quality. Moreover, stakeholders involved in the projects have...

Classroom Live: a software-assisted gamification tool

Science.gov (United States)

de Freitas, Adrian A.; de Freitas, Michelle M.

2013-06-01

Teachers have come to rely on a variety of approaches in order to elicit and sustain student interest in the classroom. One particular approach, known as gamification, seeks to improve student engagement by transforming the traditional classroom experience into a competitive multiplayer game. Initial attempts at classroom gamification relied on the teacher manually tracking student progress. At the US Air Force Academy, we wanted to experiment with a software gamification tool. Our client/server suite, dubbed Classroom Live, streamlines the gamification process for the teacher by simplifying common tasks. Simultaneously, the tool provides students with an esthetically pleasing user interface that offers in game rewards in exchange for their participation. Classroom Live is still in development, but our initial experience using the tool has been extremely positive and confirms our belief that students respond positively to gamification, even at the undergraduate level.

DAE Tools: equation-based object-oriented modelling, simulation and optimisation software

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dragan D. Nikolić

2016-04-01

Full Text Available In this work, DAE Tools modelling, simulation and optimisation software, its programming paradigms and main features are presented. The current approaches to mathematical modelling such as the use of modelling languages and general-purpose programming languages are analysed. The common set of capabilities required by the typical simulation software are discussed, and the shortcomings of the current approaches recognised. A new hybrid approach is introduced, and the modelling languages and the hybrid approach are compared in terms of the grammar, compiler, parser and interpreter requirements, maintainability and portability. The most important characteristics of the new approach are discussed, such as: (1 support for the runtime model generation; (2 support for the runtime simulation set-up; (3 support for complex runtime operating procedures; (4 interoperability with the third party software packages (i.e. NumPy/SciPy; (5 suitability for embedding and use as a web application or software as a service; and (6 code-generation, model exchange and co-simulation capabilities. The benefits of an equation-based approach to modelling, implemented in a fourth generation object-oriented general purpose programming language such as Python are discussed. The architecture and the software implementation details as well as the type of problems that can be solved using DAE Tools software are described. Finally, some applications of the software at different levels of abstraction are presented, and its embedding capabilities and suitability for use as a software as a service is demonstrated.

Can agile software tools bring the benefits of a task board to globally distributed teams?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Katsma, Christiaan; Amrit, Chintan Amrit; van Hillegersberg, Jos; Sikkel, Nicolaas; Oshri, Ilan; Kotlarsky, Julia; Willcocks, Leslie P.

Software-based tooling has become an essential part of globally disitrbuted software development. In this study we focus on the usage of such tools and task boards in particular. We investigate the deployment of these tools through a field research in 4 different companies that feature agile and

Productivity, part 2: cloud storage, remote meeting tools, screencasting, speech recognition software, password managers, and online data backup.

Science.gov (United States)

Lackey, Amanda E; Pandey, Tarun; Moshiri, Mariam; Lalwani, Neeraj; Lall, Chandana; Bhargava, Puneet

2014-06-01

It is an opportune time for radiologists to focus on personal productivity. The ever increasing reliance on computers and the Internet has significantly changed the way we work. Myriad software applications are available to help us improve our personal efficiency. In this article, the authors discuss some tools that help improve collaboration and personal productivity, maximize e-learning, and protect valuable digital data. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Software reference for SaTool - a Tool for Structural Analysis of Automated Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lorentzen, Torsten; Blanke, Mogens

2004-01-01

This software reference details the functions of SaTool – a tool for structural analysis of technical systems. SaTool is intended used as part of an industrial systems design cycle. Structural analysis is a graph-based technique where principal relations between variables express the system’s...... of the graph. SaTool makes analysis of the structure graph to provide knowledge about fundamental properties of the system in normal and faulty conditions. Salient features of SaTool include rapid analysis of possibility to diagnose faults and ability to make autonomous recovery should faults occur........ The list of such variables and functional relations constitute the system’s structure graph. Normal operation means all functional relations are intact. Should faults occur, one or more functional relations cease to be valid. In a structure graph, this is seen as the disappearance of one or more nodes...

CLAIRE, an event-driven simulation tool for testing software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raguideau, J.; Schoen, D.; Henry, J.Y.; Boulc'h, J.

1994-06-01

CLAIRE is a software tool created to perform validations on executable codes or on specifications of distributed real-time applications for nuclear safety. CLAIRE can be used both to verify the safety properties by modelling the specifications, and also to validate the final code by simulating the behaviour of its equipment and software interfaces. It can be used to observe and provide dynamic control of the simulation process, and also to record changes to the simulated data for off-line analysis. (R.P.)

Introduction on Using the FastPCR Software and the Related Java Web Tools for PCR and Oligonucleotide Assembly and Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalendar, Ruslan; Tselykh, Timofey V; Khassenov, Bekbolat; Ramanculov, Erlan M

2017-01-01

This chapter introduces the FastPCR software as an integrated tool environment for PCR primer and probe design, which predicts properties of oligonucleotides based on experimental studies of the PCR efficiency. The software provides comprehensive facilities for designing primers for most PCR applications and their combinations. These include the standard PCR as well as the multiplex, long-distance, inverse, real-time, group-specific, unique, overlap extension PCR for multi-fragments assembling cloning and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). It also contains a built-in program to design oligonucleotide sets both for long sequence assembly by ligase chain reaction and for design of amplicons that tile across a region(s) of interest. The software calculates the melting temperature for the standard and degenerate oligonucleotides including locked nucleic acid (LNA) and other modifications. It also provides analyses for a set of primers with the prediction of oligonucleotide properties, dimer and G/C-quadruplex detection, linguistic complexity as well as a primer dilution and resuspension calculator. The program consists of various bioinformatical tools for analysis of sequences with the GC or AT skew, CG% and GA% content, and the purine-pyrimidine skew. It also analyzes the linguistic sequence complexity and performs generation of random DNA sequence as well as restriction endonucleases analysis. The program allows to find or create restriction enzyme recognition sites for coding sequences and supports the clustering of sequences. It performs efficient and complete detection of various repeat types with visual display. The FastPCR software allows the sequence file batch processing that is essential for automation. The program is available for download at http://primerdigital.com/fastpcr.html , and its online version is located at http://primerdigital.com/tools/pcr.html .

Towards early software reliability prediction for computer forensic tools (case study).

Science.gov (United States)

Abu Talib, Manar

2016-01-01

Versatility, flexibility and robustness are essential requirements for software forensic tools. Researchers and practitioners need to put more effort into assessing this type of tool. A Markov model is a robust means for analyzing and anticipating the functioning of an advanced component based system. It is used, for instance, to analyze the reliability of the state machines of real time reactive systems. This research extends the architecture-based software reliability prediction model for computer forensic tools, which is based on Markov chains and COSMIC-FFP. Basically, every part of the computer forensic tool is linked to a discrete time Markov chain. If this can be done, then a probabilistic analysis by Markov chains can be performed to analyze the reliability of the components and of the whole tool. The purposes of the proposed reliability assessment method are to evaluate the tool's reliability in the early phases of its development, to improve the reliability assessment process for large computer forensic tools over time, and to compare alternative tool designs. The reliability analysis can assist designers in choosing the most reliable topology for the components, which can maximize the reliability of the tool and meet the expected reliability level specified by the end-user. The approach of assessing component-based tool reliability in the COSMIC-FFP context is illustrated with the Forensic Toolkit Imager case study.

Technical Note: Development and performance of a software tool for quality assurance of online replanning with a conventional Linac or MR-Linac

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Guang-Pei, E-mail: gpchen@mcw.edu; Ahunbay, Ergun; Li, X. Allen [Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226 (United States)

2016-04-15

Purpose: To develop an integrated quality assurance (QA) software tool for online replanning capable of efficiently and automatically checking radiation treatment (RT) planning parameters and gross plan quality, verifying treatment plan data transfer from treatment planning system (TPS) to record and verify (R&V) system, performing a secondary monitor unit (MU) calculation with or without a presence of a magnetic field from MR-Linac, and validating the delivery record consistency with the plan. Methods: The software tool, named ArtQA, was developed to obtain and compare plan and treatment parameters from both the TPS and the R&V system database. The TPS data are accessed via direct file reading and the R&V data are retrieved via open database connectivity and structured query language. Plan quality is evaluated with both the logical consistency of planning parameters and the achieved dose–volume histograms. Beams in between the TPS and R&V system are matched based on geometry configurations. To consider the effect of a 1.5 T transverse magnetic field from MR-Linac in the secondary MU calculation, a method based on modified Clarkson integration algorithm was developed and tested for a series of clinical situations. Results: ArtQA has been used in their clinic and can quickly detect inconsistencies and deviations in the entire RT planning process. With the use of the ArtQA tool, the efficiency for plan check including plan quality, data transfer, and delivery check can be improved by at least 60%. The newly developed independent MU calculation tool for MR-Linac reduces the difference between the plan and calculated MUs by 10%. Conclusions: The software tool ArtQA can be used to perform a comprehensive QA check from planning to delivery with conventional Linac or MR-Linac and is an essential tool for online replanning where the QA check needs to be performed rapidly.

Technical Note: Development and performance of a software tool for quality assurance of online replanning with a conventional Linac or MR-Linac.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Guang-Pei; Ahunbay, Ergun; Li, X Allen

2016-04-01

To develop an integrated quality assurance (QA) software tool for online replanning capable of efficiently and automatically checking radiation treatment (RT) planning parameters and gross plan quality, verifying treatment plan data transfer from treatment planning system (TPS) to record and verify (R&V) system, performing a secondary monitor unit (MU) calculation with or without a presence of a magnetic field from MR-Linac, and validating the delivery record consistency with the plan. The software tool, named ArtQA, was developed to obtain and compare plan and treatment parameters from both the TPS and the R&V system database. The TPS data are accessed via direct file reading and the R&V data are retrieved via open database connectivity and structured query language. Plan quality is evaluated with both the logical consistency of planning parameters and the achieved dose-volume histograms. Beams in between the TPS and R&V system are matched based on geometry configurations. To consider the effect of a 1.5 T transverse magnetic field from MR-Linac in the secondary MU calculation, a method based on modified Clarkson integration algorithm was developed and tested for a series of clinical situations. ArtQA has been used in their clinic and can quickly detect inconsistencies and deviations in the entire RT planning process. With the use of the ArtQA tool, the efficiency for plan check including plan quality, data transfer, and delivery check can be improved by at least 60%. The newly developed independent MU calculation tool for MR-Linac reduces the difference between the plan and calculated MUs by 10%. The software tool ArtQA can be used to perform a comprehensive QA check from planning to delivery with conventional Linac or MR-Linac and is an essential tool for online replanning where the QA check needs to be performed rapidly.

AREA EFFICIENT FRACTIONAL SAMPLE RATE CONVERSION ARCHITECTURE FOR SOFTWARE DEFINED RADIOS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Latha Sahukar

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The modern software defined radios (SDRs use complex signal processing algorithms to realize efficient wireless communication schemes. Several such algorithms require a specific symbol to sample ratio to be maintained. In this context the fractional rate converter (FRC becomes a crucial block in the receiver part of SDR. The paper presents an area optimized dynamic FRC block, for low power SDR applications. The limitations of conventional cascaded interpolator and decimator architecture for FRC are also presented. Extending the SINC function interpolation based architecture; towards high area optimization and providing run time configuration with time register are presented. The area and speed analysis are carried with Xilinx FPGA synthesis tools. Only 15% area occupancy with maximum clock speed of 133 MHz are reported on Spartan-6 Lx45 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA.

Software Support of Modelling using Ergonomic Tools in Engineering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Darina Dupláková

2017-08-01

Full Text Available One of the preconditions for correct development of industrial production is continuous interconnecting of virtual reality and real world by computer software. Computer software are used for product modelling, creation of technical documentation, scheduling, management and optimization of manufacturing processes, and efficiency increase of human work in manufacturing plants. This article describes the frequent used ergonomic software which helping to increase of human work by error rate reducing, risks factors of working environment, injury in workplaces and elimination of arising occupational diseases. They are categorized in the field of micro ergonomics and they are applicable at the manufacturing level with flexible approach in solving of established problems.

User Driven Development of Software Tools for Open Data Discovery and Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Schlobinski, Sascha; Keppel, Frank; Dihe, Pascal; Boot, Gerben; Falkenroth, Esa

2016-04-01

The use of open data in research faces challenges not restricted to inherent properties such as data quality, resolution of open data sets. Often Open data is catalogued insufficiently or fragmented. Software tools that support the effective discovery including the assessment of the data's appropriateness for research have shortcomings such as the lack of essential functionalities like support for data provenance. We believe that one of the reasons is the neglect of real end users requirements in the development process of aforementioned software tools. In the context of the FP7 Switch-On project we have pro-actively engaged the relevant user user community to collaboratively develop a means to publish, find and bind open data relevant for hydrologic research. Implementing key concepts of data discovery and exploration we have used state of the art web technologies to provide an interactive software tool that is easy to use yet powerful enough to satisfy the data discovery and access requirements of the hydrological research community.

Performance Evaluation of a Software Engineering Tool for Automated Design of Cooling Systems in Injection Moulding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jauregui-Becker, Juan M.; Tosello, Guido; van Houten, Fred J.A.M.

2013-01-01

This paper presents a software tool for automating the design of cooling systems for injection moulding and a validation of its performance. Cooling system designs were automatically generated by the proposed software tool and by applying a best practice tool engineering design approach. The two...

MyView2, a new visualization software tool for analysis of LHD data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moon, Chanho; Yoshinuma, Mikirou; Emoto, Masahiko; Ida, Katsumi

2016-01-01

The Large Helical Device (LHD) at the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS) is the world’s largest superconducting helical fusion device, providing a scientific research center to elucidate important physics research such as plasma transport, turbulence dynamics, and other topics. Furthermore, many types of advanced diagnostic devices are used to measure the confinement plasma characteristics, and these valuable physical data are registered over the 131,000 discharges in the LHD database. However, it is difficult to investigate the experimental data even though much physical data has been registered. In order to improve the efficiency for investigating plasma physics in LHD, we have developed a new data visualization software, MyView2, which consists of Python-based modules that can be easily set up and updated. MyView2 provides immediate access to experimental results, cross-shot analysis, and a collaboration point for scientific research. In particular, the MyView2 software is a portable structure for making viewable LHD experimental data in on- and off-site web servers, which is a capability not previously available in any general use tool. We will also discuss the benefits of using the MyView2 software for in-depth analysis of LHD experimental data.

Benchmarking therapeutic drug monitoring software: a review of available computer tools.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuchs, Aline; Csajka, Chantal; Thoma, Yann; Buclin, Thierry; Widmer, Nicolas

2013-01-01

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) aims to optimize treatments by individualizing dosage regimens based on the measurement of blood concentrations. Dosage individualization to maintain concentrations within a target range requires pharmacokinetic and clinical capabilities. Bayesian calculations currently represent the gold standard TDM approach but require computation assistance. In recent decades computer programs have been developed to assist clinicians in this assignment. The aim of this survey was to assess and compare computer tools designed to support TDM clinical activities. The literature and the Internet were searched to identify software. All programs were tested on personal computers. Each program was scored against a standardized grid covering pharmacokinetic relevance, user friendliness, computing aspects, interfacing and storage. A weighting factor was applied to each criterion of the grid to account for its relative importance. To assess the robustness of the software, six representative clinical vignettes were processed through each of them. Altogether, 12 software tools were identified, tested and ranked, representing a comprehensive review of the available software. Numbers of drugs handled by the software vary widely (from two to 180), and eight programs offer users the possibility of adding new drug models based on population pharmacokinetic analyses. Bayesian computation to predict dosage adaptation from blood concentration (a posteriori adjustment) is performed by ten tools, while nine are also able to propose a priori dosage regimens, based only on individual patient covariates such as age, sex and bodyweight. Among those applying Bayesian calculation, MM-USC*PACK© uses the non-parametric approach. The top two programs emerging from this benchmark were MwPharm© and TCIWorks. Most other programs evaluated had good potential while being less sophisticated or less user friendly. Programs vary in complexity and might not fit all healthcare

Learn by Yourself: The Self-Learning Tools for Qualitative Analysis Software Packages

Science.gov (United States)

Freitas, Fábio; Ribeiro, Jaime; Brandão, Catarina; Reis, Luís Paulo; de Souza, Francislê Neri; Costa, António Pedro

2017-01-01

Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS) are tools that help researchers to develop qualitative research projects. These software packages help the users with tasks such as transcription analysis, coding and text interpretation, writing and annotation, content search and analysis, recursive abstraction, grounded theory…

RAVEN AS A TOOL FOR DYNAMIC PROBABILISTIC RISK ASSESSMENT: SOFTWARE OVERVIEW

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alfonsi Andrea; Mandelli Diego; Rabiti Cristian; Joshua Cogliati; Robert Kinoshita

2013-05-01

RAVEN is a software tool under development at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) that acts as the control logic driver and post-processing tool for the newly developed Thermo-Hydraylic code RELAP- 7. The scope of this paper is to show the software structure of RAVEN and its utilization in connection with RELAP-7. A short overview of the mathematical framework behind the code is presented along with its main capabilities such as on-line controlling/monitoring and Monte-Carlo sampling. A demo of a Station Black Out PRA analysis of a simplified Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) model is shown in order to demonstrate the Monte-Carlo and clustering capabilities.

WannierTools: An open-source software package for novel topological materials

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, QuanSheng; Zhang, ShengNan; Song, Hai-Feng; Troyer, Matthias; Soluyanov, Alexey A.

2018-03-01

We present an open-source software package WannierTools, a tool for investigation of novel topological materials. This code works in the tight-binding framework, which can be generated by another software package Wannier90 (Mostofi et al., 2008). It can help to classify the topological phase of a given material by calculating the Wilson loop, and can get the surface state spectrum, which is detected by angle resolved photoemission (ARPES) and in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments. It also identifies positions of Weyl/Dirac points and nodal line structures, calculates the Berry phase around a closed momentum loop and Berry curvature in a part of the Brillouin zone (BZ).

Evaluation of static analysis tools used to assess software important to nuclear power plant safety

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ourghanlian, Alain [EDF Lab CHATOU, Simulation and Information Technologies for Power Generation Systems Department, EDF R and D, Cedex (France)

2015-03-15

We describe a comparative analysis of different tools used to assess safety-critical software used in nuclear power plants. To enhance the credibility of safety assessments and to optimize safety justification costs, Electricit e de France (EDF) investigates the use of methods and tools for source code semantic analysis, to obtain indisputable evidence and help assessors focus on the most critical issues. EDF has been using the PolySpace tool for more than 10 years. Currently, new industrial tools based on the same formal approach, Abstract Interpretation, are available. Practical experimentation with these new tools shows that the precision obtained on one of our shutdown systems software packages is substantially improved. In the first part of this article, we present the analysis principles of the tools used in our experimentation. In the second part, we present the main characteristics of protection-system software, and why these characteristics are well adapted for the new analysis tools.

Integrated management tool for controls software problems, requests and project tasking at SLAC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogind, D.; Allen, W.; Colocho, W.; DeContreras, G.; Gordon, J.; Pandey, P.; Shoaee, H.

2012-01-01

The Accelerator Directorate (AD) Instrumentation and Controls (ICD) Software (SW) Department at SLAC, with its service center model, continuously receives engineering requests to design, build and support controls for accelerator systems lab-wide. Each customer request can vary in complexity from a small software engineering change to a major enhancement. SLAC's Accelerator Improvement Projects (AIPs), along with DOE Construction projects, also contribute heavily to the work load. The various customer requests and projects, paired with the ongoing operational maintenance and problem reports, place a demand on the department that consistently exceeds the capacity of available resources. A centralized repository - comprised of all requests, project tasks, and problems - available to physicists, operators, managers, and engineers alike, is essential to capture, communicate, prioritize, assign, schedule, track, and finally, commission all work components. The Software Department has recently integrated request / project tasking into SLAC's custom online problem tracking 'Comprehensive Accelerator Tool for Enhancing Reliability' (CATER) tool. This paper discusses the newly implemented software request management tool - the workload it helps to track, its structure, features, reports, work-flow and its many usages. (authors)

Software engineering and data management for automated payload experiment tool

Science.gov (United States)

Maddux, Gary A.; Provancha, Anna; Chattam, David

1994-01-01

The Microgravity Projects Office identified a need to develop a software package that will lead experiment developers through the development planning process, obtain necessary information, establish an electronic data exchange avenue, and allow easier manipulation/reformatting of the collected information. An MS-DOS compatible software package called the Automated Payload Experiment Tool (APET) has been developed and delivered. The objective of this task is to expand on the results of the APET work previously performed by University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and provide versions of the software in a Macintosh and Windows compatible format. Appendix 1 science requirements document (SRD) Users Manual is attached.

A Software Tool for Optimal Sizing of PV Systems in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tamer Khatib

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a MATLAB based user friendly software tool called as PV.MY for optimal sizing of photovoltaic (PV systems. The software has the capabilities of predicting the metrological variables such as solar energy, ambient temperature and wind speed using artificial neural network (ANN, optimizes the PV module/ array tilt angle, optimizes the inverter size and calculate optimal capacities of PV array, battery, wind turbine and diesel generator in hybrid PV systems. The ANN based model for metrological prediction uses four meteorological variables, namely, sun shine ratio, day number and location coordinates. As for PV system sizing, iterative methods are used for determining the optimal sizing of three types of PV systems, which are standalone PV system, hybrid PV/wind system and hybrid PV/diesel generator system. The loss of load probability (LLP technique is used for optimization in which the energy sources capacities are the variables to be optimized considering very low LLP. As for determining the optimal PV panels tilt angle and inverter size, the Liu and Jordan model for solar energy incident on a tilt surface is used in optimizing the monthly tilt angle, while a model for inverter efficiency curve is used in the optimization of inverter size.

Automated software development tools in the MIS (Management Information Systems) environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arrowood, L.F.; Emrich, M.L.

1987-09-11

Quantitative and qualitative benefits can be obtained through the use of automated software development tools. Such tools are best utilized when they complement existing procedures and standards. They can assist systems analysts and programmers with project specification, design, implementation, testing, and documentation. Commercial products have been evaluated to determine their efficacy. User comments have been included to illustrate actual benefits derived from introducing these tools into MIS organizations.

An expert system based software sizing tool, phase 2

Science.gov (United States)

Friedlander, David

1990-01-01

A software tool was developed for predicting the size of a future computer program at an early stage in its development. The system is intended to enable a user who is not expert in Software Engineering to estimate software size in lines of source code with an accuracy similar to that of an expert, based on the program's functional specifications. The project was planned as a knowledge based system with a field prototype as the goal of Phase 2 and a commercial system planned for Phase 3. The researchers used techniques from Artificial Intelligence and knowledge from human experts and existing software from NASA's COSMIC database. They devised a classification scheme for the software specifications, and a small set of generic software components that represent complexity and apply to large classes of programs. The specifications are converted to generic components by a set of rules and the generic components are input to a nonlinear sizing function which makes the final prediction. The system developed for this project predicted code sizes from the database with a bias factor of 1.06 and a fluctuation factor of 1.77, an accuracy similar to that of human experts but without their significant optimistic bias.

Software engineering capability for Ada (GRASP/Ada Tool)

Science.gov (United States)

Cross, James H., II

1995-01-01

The GRASP/Ada project (Graphical Representations of Algorithms, Structures, and Processes for Ada) has successfully created and prototyped a new algorithmic level graphical representation for Ada software, the Control Structure Diagram (CSD). The primary impetus for creation of the CSD was to improve the comprehension efficiency of Ada software and, as a result, improve reliability and reduce costs. The emphasis has been on the automatic generation of the CSD from Ada PDL or source code to support reverse engineering and maintenance. The CSD has the potential to replace traditional prettyprinted Ada Source code. A new Motif compliant graphical user interface has been developed for the GRASP/Ada prototype.

75 FR 27341 - Increasing Market and Planning Efficiency Through Improved Software; Notice of Technical...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-14

..., ramp rates, and network topology), flexible dispatch, settlement calculations, transmission switching... Market and Planning Efficiency Through Improved Software; Notice of Technical Conference To Discuss Increasing Market and Planning Efficiency Through Improved Software May 7, 2010. Take notice that Commission...

Software tool for horizontal-axis wind turbine simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vitale, A.J. [Instituto Argentino de Oceanografia, Camino La Carrindanga Km. 7, 5 CC 804, B8000FWB Bahia Blanca (Argentina); Universidad Tecnologica Nacional Facultad Regional Bahia Blanca, GESE, 11 de Abril 461, B8000LMI Bahia Blanca (Argentina); Dpto. de Ing. Electrica y de Computadoras, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Av. Alem 1253, 8000 Bahia Blanca (Argentina); Rossi, A.P. [Universidad Tecnologica Nacional Facultad Regional Bahia Blanca, GESE, 11 de Abril 461, B8000LMI Bahia Blanca (Argentina); Dpto. de Ing. Electrica y de Computadoras, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Av. Alem 1253, 8000 Bahia Blanca (Argentina)

2008-07-15

The main problem of a wind turbine generator design project is the design of the right blades capable of satisfying the specific energy requirement of an electric system with optimum performance. Once the blade has been designed for optimum operation at a particular rotor angular speed, it is necessary to determine the overall performance of the rotor under the range of wind speed that it will encounter. A software tool that simulates low-power, horizontal-axis wind turbines was developed for this purpose. With this program, the user can calculate the rotor power output for any combination of wind and rotor speeds, with definite blade shape and airfoil characteristics. The software also provides information about distribution of forces along the blade span, for different operational conditions. (author)

About new software and hardware tools in the education of 'Semiconductor Devices'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taneva, Ljudmila; Basheva, Bistra

2009-01-01

This paper describes the new tools, used in the education of ”Semiconductor Devices”, developed at the Technological School “Electronic Systems”, Department of the Technical University, Sofia. The software and hardware tools give the opportunity to achieve the right balance between theory and practice, and the students are given the chance to accumulate valuable “hands-on” skills. The main purpose of the developed lab exercises is to demonstrate the use of some electronic components and practice with them. Keywords: semiconductors, media software tool, hardware, education

Software engineering knowledge at your fingertips: Experiences with a software engineering-portal

OpenAIRE

Punter, T.; Kalmar, R.

2003-01-01

In order to keep up the pace with technology development, knowledge on Software Engineering (SE) methods, techniques, and tools is required. For an effective and efficient knowledge transfer, especially Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) might benefit from Software Engineering Portals (SE-Portals). This paper provides an analysis of SE-Portals by distinguishing two types: 1) the Knowledge Portal and 2) the Knowledge & Community Portal. On behalf of the analysis we conclude that most SE...

COMPUTER TOOLS OF DYNAMIC MATHEMATIC SOFTWARE AND METHODICAL PROBLEMS OF THEIR USE

OpenAIRE

Olena V. Semenikhina; Maryna H. Drushliak

2014-01-01

The article presents results of analyses of standard computer tools of dynamic mathematic software which are used in solving tasks, and tools on which the teacher can support in the teaching of mathematics. Possibility of the organization of experimental investigating of mathematical objects on the basis of these tools and the wording of new tasks on the basis of the limited number of tools, fast automated check are specified. Some methodological comments on application of computer tools and ...

Tool Support for Parametric Analysis of Large Software Simulation Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Schumann, Johann; Gundy-Burlet, Karen; Pasareanu, Corina; Menzies, Tim; Barrett, Tony

2008-01-01

The analysis of large and complex parameterized software systems, e.g., systems simulation in aerospace, is very complicated and time-consuming due to the large parameter space, and the complex, highly coupled nonlinear nature of the different system components. Thus, such systems are generally validated only in regions local to anticipated operating points rather than through characterization of the entire feasible operational envelope of the system. We have addressed the factors deterring such an analysis with a tool to support envelope assessment: we utilize a combination of advanced Monte Carlo generation with n-factor combinatorial parameter variations to limit the number of cases, but still explore important interactions in the parameter space in a systematic fashion. Additional test-cases, automatically generated from models (e.g., UML, Simulink, Stateflow) improve the coverage. The distributed test runs of the software system produce vast amounts of data, making manual analysis impossible. Our tool automatically analyzes the generated data through a combination of unsupervised Bayesian clustering techniques (AutoBayes) and supervised learning of critical parameter ranges using the treatment learner TAR3. The tool has been developed around the Trick simulation environment, which is widely used within NASA. We will present this tool with a GN&C (Guidance, Navigation and Control) simulation of a small satellite system.

Software Tools for Electrical Quality Assurance in the LHC

CERN Document Server

Bednarek, Mateusz

2011-01-01

There are over 1600 superconducting magnet circuits in the LHC machine. Many of them consist of a large number of components electrically connected in series. This enhances the sensitivity of the whole circuits to electrical faults of individual components. Furthermore, circuits are equipped with a large number of instrumentation wires, which are exposed to accidental damage or swapping. In order to ensure safe operation, an Electrical Quality Assurance (ELQA) campaign is needed after each thermal cycle. Due to the complexity of the circuits, as well as their distant geographical distribution (tunnel of 27km circumference divided in 8 sectors), suitable software and hardware platforms had to be developed. The software combines an Oracle database, LabView data acquisition applications and PHP-based web follow-up tools. This paper describes the software used for the ELQA of the LHC.

Software tools for electrical quality assurance in the LHC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bednarek, M.; Ludwin, J.

2012-01-01

There are over 1600 superconducting magnet circuits in the LHC machine. Many of them consist of a large number of components electrically connected in series. This enhances the sensitivity of the whole circuits to electrical faults of individual components. Furthermore, circuits are equipped with a large number of instrumentation wires, which are exposed to accidental damage or swapping. In order to ensure safe operation, an Electrical Quality Assurance (ELQA) campaign is needed after each thermal cycle. Due to the complexity of the circuits, as well as their distant geographical distribution (tunnel of 27 km circumference divided in 8 sectors), suitable software and hardware platforms had to be developed. The software combines an Oracle database, LabView data acquisition applications and PHP-based web follow-up tools. This paper describes the software used for the ELQA of the LHC. (authors)

NuFTA: A CASE Tool for Automatic Software Fault Tree Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yun, Sang Hyun; Lee, Dong Ah; Yoo, Jun Beom

2010-01-01

Software fault tree analysis (SFTA) is widely used for analyzing software requiring high-reliability. In SFTA, experts predict failures of system through HA-ZOP (Hazard and Operability study) or FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) and draw software fault trees about the failures. Quality and cost of the software fault tree, therefore, depend on knowledge and experience of the experts. This paper proposes a CASE tool NuFTA in order to assist experts of safety analysis. The NuFTA automatically generate software fault trees from NuSCR formal requirements specification. NuSCR is a formal specification language used for specifying software requirements of KNICS RPS (Reactor Protection System) in Korea. We used the SFTA templates proposed by in order to generate SFTA automatically. The NuFTA also generates logical formulae summarizing the failure's cause, and we have a plan to use the formulae usefully through formal verification techniques

Software Tools: A One-Semester Secondary School Computer Course.

Science.gov (United States)

Bromley, John; Lakatos, John

1985-01-01

Provides a course outline, describes equipment and teacher requirements, discusses student evaluation and course outcomes, and details the computer programs used in a high school course. The course is designed to teach students use of the microcomputer as a tool through hands-on experience with a variety of commercial software programs. (MBR)

PyElph - a software tool for gel images analysis and phylogenetics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavel Ana Brânduşa

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This paper presents PyElph, a software tool which automatically extracts data from gel images, computes the molecular weights of the analyzed molecules or fragments, compares DNA patterns which result from experiments with molecular genetic markers and, also, generates phylogenetic trees computed by five clustering methods, using the information extracted from the analyzed gel image. The software can be successfully used for population genetics, phylogenetics, taxonomic studies and other applications which require gel image analysis. Researchers and students working in molecular biology and genetics would benefit greatly from the proposed software because it is free, open source, easy to use, has a friendly Graphical User Interface and does not depend on specific image acquisition devices like other commercial programs with similar functionalities do. Results PyElph software tool is entirely implemented in Python which is a very popular programming language among the bioinformatics community. It provides a very friendly Graphical User Interface which was designed in six steps that gradually lead to the results. The user is guided through the following steps: image loading and preparation, lane detection, band detection, molecular weights computation based on a molecular weight marker, band matching and finally, the computation and visualization of phylogenetic trees. A strong point of the software is the visualization component for the processed data. The Graphical User Interface provides operations for image manipulation and highlights lanes, bands and band matching in the analyzed gel image. All the data and images generated in each step can be saved. The software has been tested on several DNA patterns obtained from experiments with different genetic markers. Examples of genetic markers which can be analyzed using PyElph are RFLP (Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism, AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism, RAPD

DOVIS 2.0: an efficient and easy to use parallel virtual screening tool based on AutoDock 4.0.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Xiaohui; Kumar, Kamal; Hu, Xin; Wallqvist, Anders; Reifman, Jaques

2008-09-08

Small-molecule docking is an important tool in studying receptor-ligand interactions and in identifying potential drug candidates. Previously, we developed a software tool (DOVIS) to perform large-scale virtual screening of small molecules in parallel on Linux clusters, using AutoDock 3.05 as the docking engine. DOVIS enables the seamless screening of millions of compounds on high-performance computing platforms. In this paper, we report significant advances in the software implementation of DOVIS 2.0, including enhanced screening capability, improved file system efficiency, and extended usability. To keep DOVIS up-to-date, we upgraded the software's docking engine to the more accurate AutoDock 4.0 code. We developed a new parallelization scheme to improve runtime efficiency and modified the AutoDock code to reduce excessive file operations during large-scale virtual screening jobs. We also implemented an algorithm to output docked ligands in an industry standard format, sd-file format, which can be easily interfaced with other modeling programs. Finally, we constructed a wrapper-script interface to enable automatic rescoring of docked ligands by arbitrarily selected third-party scoring programs. The significance of the new DOVIS 2.0 software compared with the previous version lies in its improved performance and usability. The new version makes the computation highly efficient by automating load balancing, significantly reducing excessive file operations by more than 95%, providing outputs that conform to industry standard sd-file format, and providing a general wrapper-script interface for rescoring of docked ligands. The new DOVIS 2.0 package is freely available to the public under the GNU General Public License.

DOVIS 2.0: an efficient and easy to use parallel virtual screening tool based on AutoDock 4.0

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wallqvist Anders

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Small-molecule docking is an important tool in studying receptor-ligand interactions and in identifying potential drug candidates. Previously, we developed a software tool (DOVIS to perform large-scale virtual screening of small molecules in parallel on Linux clusters, using AutoDock 3.05 as the docking engine. DOVIS enables the seamless screening of millions of compounds on high-performance computing platforms. In this paper, we report significant advances in the software implementation of DOVIS 2.0, including enhanced screening capability, improved file system efficiency, and extended usability. Implementation To keep DOVIS up-to-date, we upgraded the software's docking engine to the more accurate AutoDock 4.0 code. We developed a new parallelization scheme to improve runtime efficiency and modified the AutoDock code to reduce excessive file operations during large-scale virtual screening jobs. We also implemented an algorithm to output docked ligands in an industry standard format, sd-file format, which can be easily interfaced with other modeling programs. Finally, we constructed a wrapper-script interface to enable automatic rescoring of docked ligands by arbitrarily selected third-party scoring programs. Conclusion The significance of the new DOVIS 2.0 software compared with the previous version lies in its improved performance and usability. The new version makes the computation highly efficient by automating load balancing, significantly reducing excessive file operations by more than 95%, providing outputs that conform to industry standard sd-file format, and providing a general wrapper-script interface for rescoring of docked ligands. The new DOVIS 2.0 package is freely available to the public under the GNU General Public License.

Knowledge Architect : A Tool Suite for Managing Software Architecture Knowledge

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Liang, Peng; Jansen, Anton; Avgeriou, Paris

2009-01-01

Management of software architecture knowledge (AK) is vital for improving an organization’s architectural capabilities. To support the architecting process within our industrial partner: Astron, the Dutch radio astronomy institute, we implemented the Knowledge Architect (KA): a tool suite for

Metabolic interrelationships software application: Interactive learning tool for intermediary metabolism

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A.J.M. Verhoeven (Adrie); M. Doets (Mathijs); J.M.J. Lamers (Jos); J.F. Koster (Johan)

2005-01-01

textabstractWe developed and implemented the software application titled Metabolic Interrelationships as a self-learning and -teaching tool for intermediary metabolism. It is used by undergraduate medical students in an integrated organ systems-based and disease-oriented core curriculum, which

Variation of densitometry on computed tomography in COPD--influence of different software tools.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark O Wielpütz

Full Text Available Quantitative multidetector computed tomography (MDCT as a potential biomarker is increasingly used for severity assessment of emphysema in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD. Aim of this study was to evaluate the user-independent measurement variability between five different fully-automatic densitometry software tools.MDCT and full-body plethysmography incl. forced expiratory volume in 1s and total lung capacity were available for 49 patients with advanced COPD (age = 64±9 years, forced expiratory volume in 1 s = 31±6% predicted. Measurement variation regarding lung volume, emphysema volume, emphysema index, and mean lung density was evaluated for two scientific and three commercially available lung densitometry software tools designed to analyze MDCT from different scanner types.One scientific tool and one commercial tool failed to process most or all datasets, respectively, and were excluded. One scientific and another commercial tool analyzed 49, the remaining commercial tool 30 datasets. Lung volume, emphysema volume, emphysema index and mean lung density were significantly different amongst these three tools (p<0.001. Limits of agreement for lung volume were [-0.195, -0.052 l], [-0.305, -0.131 l], and [-0.123, -0.052 l] with correlation coefficients of r = 1.00 each. Limits of agreement for emphysema index were [-6.2, 2.9%], [-27.0, 16.9%], and [-25.5, 18.8%], with r = 0.79 to 0.98. Correlation of lung volume with total lung capacity was good to excellent (r = 0.77 to 0.91, p<0.001, but segmented lung volume (6.7±1.3-6.8±1.3 l were significantly lower than total lung capacity (7.7±1.7 l, p<0.001.Technical incompatibilities hindered evaluation of two of five tools. The remaining three showed significant measurement variation for emphysema, hampering quantitative MDCT as a biomarker in COPD. Follow-up studies should currently use identical software, and standardization efforts should encompass software as

Oxygen octahedra picker: A software tool to extract quantitative information from STEM images

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Yi, E-mail: y.wang@fkf.mpg.de; Salzberger, Ute; Sigle, Wilfried; Eren Suyolcu, Y.; Aken, Peter A. van

2016-09-15

In perovskite oxide based materials and hetero-structures there are often strong correlations between oxygen octahedral distortions and functionality. Thus, atomistic understanding of the octahedral distortion, which requires accurate measurements of atomic column positions, will greatly help to engineer their properties. Here, we report the development of a software tool to extract quantitative information of the lattice and of BO{sub 6} octahedral distortions from STEM images. Center-of-mass and 2D Gaussian fitting methods are implemented to locate positions of individual atom columns. The precision of atomic column distance measurements is evaluated on both simulated and experimental images. The application of the software tool is demonstrated using practical examples. - Highlights: • We report a software tool for mapping atomic positions from HAADF and ABF images. • It enables quantification of both crystal lattice and oxygen octahedral distortions. • We test the measurement accuracy and precision on simulated and experimental images. • It works well for different orientations of perovskite structures and interfaces.

An Accurate FFPA-PSR Estimator Algorithm and Tool for Software Effort Estimation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Senthil Kumar Murugesan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Software companies are now keen to provide secure software with respect to accuracy and reliability of their products especially related to the software effort estimation. Therefore, there is a need to develop a hybrid tool which provides all the necessary features. This paper attempts to propose a hybrid estimator algorithm and model which incorporates quality metrics, reliability factor, and the security factor with a fuzzy-based function point analysis. Initially, this method utilizes a fuzzy-based estimate to control the uncertainty in the software size with the help of a triangular fuzzy set at the early development stage. Secondly, the function point analysis is extended by the security and reliability factors in the calculation. Finally, the performance metrics are added with the effort estimation for accuracy. The experimentation is done with different project data sets on the hybrid tool, and the results are compared with the existing models. It shows that the proposed method not only improves the accuracy but also increases the reliability, as well as the security, of the product.

The International Database of Efficient Appliances (IDEA): A new tool to support appliance energy-efficiency deployment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerke, Brian F.; McNeil, Michael A.; Tu, Thomas

2017-01-01

Highlights: •IDEA collects, organizes, and stores data on appliance features and efficiency. •Data can be gathered for any appliance type on any international market. •IDEA enables new approaches to efficiency deployment and monitoring. •Techniques are developed for cross-market comparison of energy-savings potential. •We find significant cost-effective energy-savings potential from efficiency for Indian and Chinese refrigerators. -- Abstract: Appliance energy-efficiency programs are a central component of many countries’ energy-policy portfolios. A major barrier to optimal implementation of these programs is lack of data to determine market baselines, assess the potential for cost-effective energy savings, and track markets over time to evaluate and verify program impacts. To address this gap, we have developed the International Database of Efficient Appliances (IDEA), a suite of software tools that automatically gathers data that is currently dispersed across various online sources and compiles it into a unified repository of information on efficiency, price, and features for a diversity of appliances and devices in markets around the world. In this article we describe the framework and functionality of IDEA, and we demonstrate its power as a resource for research and policy development related to appliance energy efficiency. Using IDEA data for refrigerators in China and India, we assess the potential for cost-effective energy savings within each market by computing robust indicators that can also be easily compared across different appliances and markets. We find that significant cost-effective savings are available on both markets. We discuss implications for the development of future energy-efficiency deployment programs.

77 FR 19280 - Increasing Market and Planning Efficiency Through Improved Software; Notice of Technical...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-30

... concerns that current system data quality might not allow for an AC optimal power flow model to be properly... Market and Planning Efficiency Through Improved Software; Notice of Technical Conference: Increasing Real-Time and Day- Ahead Market Efficiency Through Improved Software Take notice that Commission staff will...

Efficient Development and Verification of Safe Railway Control Software

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haxthausen, Anne Elisabeth; Peleska, Jan

2013-01-01

the monitoring process; hydraulic absorbers as dampers to dissipate the energy of oscillations in railway electric equipment; development of train fare calculation and adjustment systems using VDM++; efficient development and verification of safe railway control software; and evolution of the connectivity...

A free software tool for the development of decision support systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

COLONESE, G

2008-06-01

Full Text Available This article describes PostGeoOlap, a free software open source tool for decision support that integrates OLAP (On-Line Analytical Processing and GIS (Geographical Information Systems. Besides describing the tool, we show how it can be used to achieve effective and low cost decision support that is adequate for small and medium companies and for small public offices.

Distortion Analysis Toolkit—A Software Tool for Easy Analysis of Nonlinear Audio Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jyri Pakarinen

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Several audio effects devices deliberately add nonlinear distortion to the processed signal in order to create a desired sound. When creating virtual analog models of nonlinearly distorting devices, it would be very useful to carefully analyze the type of distortion, so that the model could be made as realistic as possible. While traditional system analysis tools such as the frequency response give detailed information on the operation of linear and time-invariant systems, they are less useful for analyzing nonlinear devices. Furthermore, although there do exist separate algorithms for nonlinear distortion analysis, there is currently no unified, easy-to-use tool for rapid analysis of distorting audio systems. This paper offers a remedy by introducing a new software tool for easy analysis of distorting effects. A comparison between a well-known guitar tube amplifier and two commercial software simulations is presented as a case study. This freely available software is written in Matlab language, but the analysis tool can also run as a standalone program, so the user does not need to have Matlab installed in order to perform the analysis.

Three Software Tools for Viewing Sectional Planes, Volume Models, and Surface Models of a Cadaver Hand.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Beom Sun; Chung, Min Suk; Shin, Byeong Seok; Kwon, Koojoo

2018-02-19

The hand anatomy, including the complicated hand muscles, can be grasped by using computer-assisted learning tools with high quality two-dimensional images and three-dimensional models. The purpose of this study was to present up-to-date software tools that promote learning of stereoscopic morphology of the hand. On the basis of horizontal sectioned images and outlined images of a male cadaver, vertical planes, volume models, and surface models were elaborated. Software to browse pairs of the sectioned and outlined images in orthogonal planes and software to peel and rotate the volume models, as well as a portable document format (PDF) file to select and rotate the surface models, were produced. All of the software tools were downloadable free of charge and usable off-line. The three types of tools for viewing multiple aspects of the hand could be adequately employed according to individual needs. These new tools involving the realistic images of a cadaver and the diverse functions are expected to improve comprehensive knowledge of the hand shape. © 2018 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

D-VASim: A Software Tool to Simulate and Analyze Genetic Logic Circuits

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baig, Hasan; Madsen, Jan

2016-01-01

-stage researchers with limited experience in the field of biology. The Solution: Using LabVIEW to develop a user-friendly simulation tool named Dynamic Virtual Analyzer and Simulator (D-VASim), which is the first software tool in the domain of synthetic biology that provides a virtual laboratory environment...

Review of software tools for design and analysis of large scale MRM proteomic datasets.

Science.gov (United States)

Colangelo, Christopher M; Chung, Lisa; Bruce, Can; Cheung, Kei-Hoi

2013-06-15

Selective or Multiple Reaction monitoring (SRM/MRM) is a liquid-chromatography (LC)/tandem-mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method that enables the quantitation of specific proteins in a sample by analyzing precursor ions and the fragment ions of their selected tryptic peptides. Instrumentation software has advanced to the point that thousands of transitions (pairs of primary and secondary m/z values) can be measured in a triple quadrupole instrument coupled to an LC, by a well-designed scheduling and selection of m/z windows. The design of a good MRM assay relies on the availability of peptide spectra from previous discovery-phase LC-MS/MS studies. The tedious aspect of manually developing and processing MRM assays involving thousands of transitions has spurred to development of software tools to automate this process. Software packages have been developed for project management, assay development, assay validation, data export, peak integration, quality assessment, and biostatistical analysis. No single tool provides a complete end-to-end solution, thus this article reviews the current state and discusses future directions of these software tools in order to enable researchers to combine these tools for a comprehensive targeted proteomics workflow. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Streamlining the Design-to-Build Transition with Build-Optimization Software Tools.

Science.gov (United States)

Oberortner, Ernst; Cheng, Jan-Fang; Hillson, Nathan J; Deutsch, Samuel

2017-03-17

Scaling-up capabilities for the design, build, and test of synthetic biology constructs holds great promise for the development of new applications in fuels, chemical production, or cellular-behavior engineering. Construct design is an essential component in this process; however, not every designed DNA sequence can be readily manufactured, even using state-of-the-art DNA synthesis methods. Current biological computer-aided design and manufacture tools (bioCAD/CAM) do not adequately consider the limitations of DNA synthesis technologies when generating their outputs. Designed sequences that violate DNA synthesis constraints may require substantial sequence redesign or lead to price-premiums and temporal delays, which adversely impact the efficiency of the DNA manufacturing process. We have developed a suite of build-optimization software tools (BOOST) to streamline the design-build transition in synthetic biology engineering workflows. BOOST incorporates knowledge of DNA synthesis success determinants into the design process to output ready-to-build sequences, preempting the need for sequence redesign. The BOOST web application is available at https://boost.jgi.doe.gov and its Application Program Interfaces (API) enable integration into automated, customized DNA design processes. The herein presented results highlight the effectiveness of BOOST in reducing DNA synthesis costs and timelines.

An Efficient Technique for Bayesian Modelling of Family Data Using the BUGS software

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harold T Bae

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Linear mixed models have become a popular tool to analyze continuous data from family-based designs by using random effects that model the correlation of subjects from the same family. However, mixed models for family data are challenging to implement with the BUGS (Bayesian inference Using Gibbs Sampling software because of the high-dimensional covariance matrix of the random effects. This paper describes an efficient parameterization that utilizes the singular value decomposition of the covariance matrix of random effects, includes the BUGS code for such implementation, and extends the parameterization to generalized linear mixed models. The implementation is evaluated using simulated data and an example from a large family-based study is presented with a comparison to other existing methods.

Programming heterogeneous MPSoCs tool flows to close the software productivity gap

CERN Document Server

Castrillón Mazo, Jerónimo

2014-01-01

This book provides embedded software developers with techniques for programmingheterogeneous Multi-Processor Systems-on-Chip (MPSoCs), capable of executing multiple applications simultaneously. It describes a set of algorithms and methodologies to narrow the software productivity gap, as well as an in-depth description of the underlying problems and challenges of today’s programming practices. The authors present four different tool flows: A parallelism extraction flow for applications writtenusing the C programming language, a mapping and scheduling flow for parallel applications, a special mapping flow for baseband applications in the context of Software Defined Radio (SDR) and a final flow for analyzing multiple applications at design time. The tool flows are evaluated on Virtual Platforms (VPs), which mimic different characteristics of state-of-the-art heterogeneous MPSoCs.   • Provides a novel set of algorithms and methodologies for programming heterogeneous Multi-Processor Systems-on-Chip (MPSoCs)...

Integrated structural analysis tool using the linear matching method part 1 – Software development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ure, James; Chen, Haofeng; Tipping, David

2014-01-01

A number of direct methods based upon the Linear Matching Method (LMM) framework have been developed to address structural integrity issues for components subjected to cyclic thermal and mechanical load conditions. This paper presents a new integrated structural analysis tool using the LMM framework for the assessment of load carrying capacity, shakedown limit, ratchet limit and steady state cyclic response of structures. First, the development of the LMM for the evaluation of design limits in plasticity is introduced. Second, preliminary considerations for the development of the LMM into a tool which can be used on a regular basis by engineers are discussed. After the re-structuring of the LMM subroutines for multiple central processing unit (CPU) solution, the LMM software tool for the assessment of design limits in plasticity is implemented by developing an Abaqus CAE plug-in with graphical user interfaces. Further demonstration of this new LMM analysis tool including practical application and verification is presented in an accompanying paper. - Highlights: • A new structural analysis tool using the Linear Matching Method (LMM) is developed. • The software tool is able to evaluate the design limits in plasticity. • Able to assess limit load, shakedown, ratchet limit and steady state cyclic response. • Re-structuring of the LMM subroutines for multiple CPU solution is conducted. • The software tool is implemented by developing an Abaqus CAE plug-in with GUI

ENCoRE: an efficient software for CRISPR screens identifies new players in extrinsic apoptosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Trümbach, Dietrich; Pfeiffer, Susanne; Poppe, Manuel; Scherb, Hagen; Doll, Sebastian; Wurst, Wolfgang; Schick, Joel A

2017-11-25

As CRISPR/Cas9 mediated screens with pooled guide libraries in somatic cells become increasingly established, an unmet need for rapid and accurate companion informatics tools has emerged. We have developed a lightweight and efficient software to easily manipulate large raw next generation sequencing datasets derived from such screens into informative relational context with graphical support. The advantages of the software entitled ENCoRE (Easy NGS-to-Gene CRISPR REsults) include a simple graphical workflow, platform independence, local and fast multithreaded processing, data pre-processing and gene mapping with custom library import. We demonstrate the capabilities of ENCoRE to interrogate results from a pooled CRISPR cellular viability screen following Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha challenge. The results not only identified stereotypical players in extrinsic apoptotic signaling but two as yet uncharacterized members of the extrinsic apoptotic cascade, Smg7 and Ces2a. We further validated and characterized cell lines containing mutations in these genes against a panel of cell death stimuli and involvement in p53 signaling. In summary, this software enables bench scientists with sensitive data or without access to informatic cores to rapidly interpret results from large scale experiments resulting from pooled CRISPR/Cas9 library screens.

LevRad software as a tool to learn how to proceed with a shielding adequacy analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferreira, C.C.; Oliveira, R.A.P.; Souza, S.O.

2009-01-01

Since the discovery of X-rays by Roentgen in 1895, several recommendations about the hazards from this radiation source have been published. About 14% of the total annual worldwide collective effective dose originates from the diagnostic X-rays examinations. In the UK, the collective effective dose from diagnostic X-rays examinations represents about 90% of the dose from all artificial sources. Diverse strategies have been performed, in an attempt to reduce the worldwide collective effective dose. We developed the LevRad software with the aim to teach how to proceed in an analysis of barriers shielding against diagnostic X-rays, to minimize the contact of the professional or the student with X-rays, and, finally, to prevent the consuming of the X-rays equipment. Some tests of the software were made, and preliminary results indicate that LevRad is efficient as a complementary tool for teaching professionals related to diagnostic radiology. In the case of the students, the advantage is perceived when using the software before the first contact with the X-rays equipment. The software introduces a solid knowledge about shielding adequacy analysis, prevents the consummation of the X-rays tube recurrent of the shielding adequacy analyses teaching and reduces the collective effective dose by avoiding the possible unnecessary exposures. (author)

Workflow-Based Software Development Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Izygon, Michel E.

2013-01-01

The Software Developer's Assistant (SDA) helps software teams more efficiently and accurately conduct or execute software processes associated with NASA mission-critical software. SDA is a process enactment platform that guides software teams through project-specific standards, processes, and procedures. Software projects are decomposed into all of their required process steps or tasks, and each task is assigned to project personnel. SDA orchestrates the performance of work required to complete all process tasks in the correct sequence. The software then notifies team members when they may begin work on their assigned tasks and provides the tools, instructions, reference materials, and supportive artifacts that allow users to compliantly perform the work. A combination of technology components captures and enacts any software process use to support the software lifecycle. It creates an adaptive workflow environment that can be modified as needed. SDA achieves software process automation through a Business Process Management (BPM) approach to managing the software lifecycle for mission-critical projects. It contains five main parts: TieFlow (workflow engine), Business Rules (rules to alter process flow), Common Repository (storage for project artifacts, versions, history, schedules, etc.), SOA (interface to allow internal, GFE, or COTS tools integration), and the Web Portal Interface (collaborative web environment

Energy-Aware Software Engineering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eder, Kerstin; Gallagher, John Patrick

2017-01-01

A great deal of energy in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems can be wasted by software, regardless of how energy-efficient the underlying hardware is. To avoid such waste, programmers need to understand the energy consumption of programs during the development process rather......, the chapter discusses how energy analysis and modelling techniques can be incorporated in software engineering tools, including existing compilers, to assist the energy-aware programmer to optimise the energy consumption of code....

Commissioning software tools at the Advanced Photon Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emery, L.

1995-01-01

A software tool-oriented approach has been adopted in the commissioning of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory, particularly in the commissioning of the Positron Accumulator Ring (PAR). The general philosophy is to decompose a complicated procedure involving measurement, data processing, and control into a series of simpler steps, each accomplished by a generic toolkit program. The implementation is greatly facilitated by adopting the SDDS (self-describing data set protocol), which comes with its own toolkit. The combined toolkit has made accelerator physics measurements easier. For instance, the measurement of the optical functions of the PAR and the beamlines connected to it have been largely automated. Complicated measurements are feasible with a combination of tools running independently

Theory and state-of-the-art technology of software reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzudo, Tomoaki; Watanabe, Norio

1999-11-01

Since FY 1997 , the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute has been conducting a project , Study on Reliability of Digital I and C Systems. As part of the project , the methodologies and tools to improve software reliability were reviewed in order to examine the theory and the state-of-the-art technology in this field. It is surmised, as results from the review, that computerized software design and implementation tool (CASE tool), algebraic analysis to ensure the consistency between software requirement framework and its detailed design specification, and efficient test method using the internal information of the software (white-box test) at the validation phase just before the completion of the development will play a key role to enhance software reliability in the future. (author)

Software Tools for In-Situ Documentation of Built Heritage

Science.gov (United States)

Smars, P.

2013-07-01

The paper presents open source software tools developed by the author to facilitate in-situ documentation of architectural and archæological heritage. The design choices are exposed and related to a general issue in conservation and documentation: taking decisions about a valuable object under threat . The questions of level of objectivity is central to the three steps of this process. It is our belief that in-situ documentation has to be favoured in this demanding context, full of potential discoveries. The very powerful surveying techniques in rapid development nowadays enhance our vision but often tend to bring back a critical part of the documentation process to the office. The software presented facilitate a direct treatment of the data on the site. Emphasis is given to flexibility, interoperability and simplicity. Key features of the software are listed and illustrated with examples (3D model of Gothic vaults, analysis of the shape of a column, deformation of a wall, direct interaction with AutoCAD).

COMSY - A Software Tool for Aging and Plant Life Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zander, Andre; Nopper, Helmut

2012-01-01

A Plant-wide and systematic Aging and Plant Life Management is essential for the safe operation and/or availability of nuclear power plants. The Aging Management (AM) has the objective to monitor and control degradation effects for safety relevant Systems, Structures and Components (SSCs) which may compromise safety functions of the plant. The Plant Life Management (PLM) methodology also includes aging surveillance for availability relevant SSCs. AM and PLM cover mechanical components, electrical and I and C systems and civil structures All Aging and Plant Life Management rules call for a comprehensive approach, requiring the systematic collection of various aging and safety relevant data on a plant-wide basis. This data needs to be serviced and periodically evaluated. Due to the complexity of the process, this activity needs to be supported by a qualified software tool for the management of aging relevant data and associated documents (approx. 30 000 SSCs). In order to support the power plant operators AREVA NP has developed the software tool COMSY. The COMSY software with its integrated AM modules enables the design and setup of a knowledge-based power plant model compatible to the requirements of international and national rules (e.g. IAEA Safety Guide NS-G-2.12, KTA 1403). In this process, a key task is to identify and monitor degradation mechanisms. For this purpose the COMSY tool provides prognosis and trending functions, which are based on more than 30 years of experience in the evaluation of degradation effects and numerous experimental studies. Since 1998 COMSY has been applied successfully in more than fifty reactor units in this field. The current version 3.0 was revised completely and offers additional AM functions. All aging-relevant component data are compiled and allocated via an integrated power plant model. Owing to existing interfaces to other software solutions and flexible import functions, COMSY is highly compatible with already existing data

Novel software for quantitative evaluation and graphical representation of masticatory efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Halazonetis, D J; Schimmel, M; Antonarakis, G S; Christou, P

2013-05-01

Blending of chewing gums of different colours is used in the clinical setting, as a simple and reliable means for the assessment of chewing efficiency. However, the available software is difficult to use in an everyday clinical setting, and there is no possibility of automated classification of the patient's chewing ability in a graph, to facilitate visualisation of the results and to evaluate potential chewing difficulties. The aims of this study were to test the validity of ViewGum - a novel image analysis software for the evaluation of boli derived from a two-colour mixing ability test - and to establish a baseline graph for the representation of the masticatory efficiency in a healthy population. Image analysis demonstrated significant hue variation decrease as the number of chewing cycles increased, indicating a higher degree of colour mixture. Standard deviation of hue (SDHue) was significantly different between all chewing cycles. Regression of the log-transformed values of the medians of SDHue on the number of chewing cycles showed a high statistically significant correlation (r² = 0.94, P test methods by the simplicity of its application. The newly developed ViewGum software provides speed, ease of use and immediate extraction of clinically useful conclusions to the already established method of chewing efficiency evaluation and is a valid adjunct for the evaluation of masticatory efficiency with two-colour chewing gum. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

HITCal: a software tool for analysis of video head impulse test responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Rey-Martinez, Jorge; Batuecas-Caletrio, Angel; Matiño, Eusebi; Perez Fernandez, Nicolás

2015-09-01

The developed software (HITCal) may be a useful tool in the analysis and measurement of the saccadic video head impulse test (vHIT) responses and with the experience obtained during its use the authors suggest that HITCal is an excellent method for enhanced exploration of vHIT outputs. To develop a (software) method to analyze and explore the vHIT responses, mainly saccades. HITCal was written using a computational development program; the function to access a vHIT file was programmed; extended head impulse exploration and measurement tools were created and an automated saccade analysis was developed using an experimental algorithm. For pre-release HITCal laboratory tests, a database of head impulse tests (HITs) was created with the data collected retrospectively in three reference centers. This HITs database was evaluated by humans and was also computed with HITCal. The authors have successfully built HITCal and it has been released as open source software; the developed software was fully operative and all the proposed characteristics were incorporated in the released version. The automated saccades algorithm implemented in HITCal has good concordance with the assessment by human observers (Cohen's kappa coefficient = 0.7).

DAISY: a new software tool to test global identifiability of biological and physiological systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Bellu, Giuseppina; Saccomani, Maria Pia; Audoly, Stefania; D'Angiò, Leontina

2007-10-01

A priori global identifiability is a structural property of biological and physiological models. It is considered a prerequisite for well-posed estimation, since it concerns the possibility of recovering uniquely the unknown model parameters from measured input-output data, under ideal conditions (noise-free observations and error-free model structure). Of course, determining if the parameters can be uniquely recovered from observed data is essential before investing resources, time and effort in performing actual biomedical experiments. Many interesting biological models are nonlinear but identifiability analysis for nonlinear system turns out to be a difficult mathematical problem. Different methods have been proposed in the literature to test identifiability of nonlinear models but, to the best of our knowledge, so far no software tools have been proposed for automatically checking identifiability of nonlinear models. In this paper, we describe a software tool implementing a differential algebra algorithm to perform parameter identifiability analysis for (linear and) nonlinear dynamic models described by polynomial or rational equations. Our goal is to provide the biological investigator a completely automatized software, requiring minimum prior knowledge of mathematical modelling and no in-depth understanding of the mathematical tools. The DAISY (Differential Algebra for Identifiability of SYstems) software will potentially be useful in biological modelling studies, especially in physiology and clinical medicine, where research experiments are particularly expensive and/or difficult to perform. Practical examples of use of the software tool DAISY are presented. DAISY is available at the web site http://www.dei.unipd.it/~pia/.

Assembly Line Efficiency Improvement by Using WITNESS Simulation Software

Science.gov (United States)

Yasir, A. S. H. M.; Mohamed, N. M. Z. N.

2018-03-01

In the nowadays-competitive world, efficiencies and the productivity of the assembly line are essential in manufacturing company. This paper demonstrates the study of the existing production line performance. The actual cycle time observed and recorded during the working process. The current layout was designed and analysed using Witness simulation software. The productivity and effectiveness for every single operator are measured to determine the operator idle time and busy time. Two new alternatives layout were proposed and analysed by using Witness simulation software to improve the performance of production activities. This research provided valuable and better understanding of production effectiveness by adjusting the line balancing. After analysing the data, simulation result from the current layout and the proposed plan later been tabulated to compare the improved efficiency and productivity. The proposed design plan has shown an increase in yield and productivity compared to the current arrangement. This research has been carried out in company XYZ, which is one of the automotive premises in Pahang, Malaysia.

Software tools for manipulating fe mesh, virtual surgery and post-processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milašinović Danko Z.

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describes a set of software tools which we developed for the calculation of fluid flow through cardiovascular organs. Our tools work with medical data from a CT scanner, but could be used with any other 3D input data. For meshing we used a Tetgen tetrahedral mesh generator, as well as a mesh re-generator that we have developed for conversion of tetrahedral elements into bricks. After adequate meshing we used our PAKF solver for calculation of fluid flow. For human-friendly presentation of results we developed a set of post-processing software tools. With modification of 2D mesh (boundary of cardiovascular organ it is possible to do virtual surgery, so in a case of an aorta with aneurism, which we had received from University Clinical center in Heidelberg from a multi-slice 64-CT scanner, we removed the aneurism and ran calculations on both geometrical models afterwards. The main idea of this methodology is creating a system that could be used in clinics.

Hardware and software and machine-tool simulation with parallel structures mechanisms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keba P.V.

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The usage spectrum of mechanisms with parallel structure is spreading all the time. The mechanisms of machine-tools and manipulators become more complicated and it is necessary to improve the program-controlled modules. Closed circuit mechanisms are mostly spread in robotic complexes, where manipulator performs complicated spatial movements by the given trajectory. The usage spectrum is very wide and the most popular are sorting, welding, assembling and others. However, the problem of designing the operating programs is still present even today. It is just because the developed post-processors are created for the equipment that we have for now. But new machine tool constructions appear every day and there is a necessity to control them. The problems associated with using of hardware and software of mechanisms with parallel structure in computer-aided simulation are considered. The program for inverse problem kinematics solving is designed. New method of designing the control programs is found. The kinematic analysis methods options and calculated data obtained by computer mathematics systems are shown with «Tools Glide» software taken as an example.

A software tool for simulation of surfaces generated by ball nose end milling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bissacco, Giuliano

2004-01-01

, for prediction of surface topography of ball nose end milled surfaces, was developed. Such software tool is based on a simplified model of the ideal tool motion and neglects the effects due to run-out, static and dynamic deflections and error motions, but has the merit of generating in output a file in a format...... readable by a surface processor software (SPIP [2]), for calculation of a number of surface roughness parameters. In the next paragraph a description of the basic features of ball nose end milled surfaces is given, while in paragraph 3 the model is described....

9th International Workshop on Parallel Tools for High Performance Computing

CERN Document Server

Hilbrich, Tobias; Niethammer, Christoph; Gracia, José; Nagel, Wolfgang; Resch, Michael

2016-01-01

High Performance Computing (HPC) remains a driver that offers huge potentials and benefits for science and society. However, a profound understanding of the computational matters and specialized software is needed to arrive at effective and efficient simulations. Dedicated software tools are important parts of the HPC software landscape, and support application developers. Even though a tool is by definition not a part of an application, but rather a supplemental piece of software, it can make a fundamental difference during the development of an application. Such tools aid application developers in the context of debugging, performance analysis, and code optimization, and therefore make a major contribution to the development of robust and efficient parallel software. This book introduces a selection of the tools presented and discussed at the 9th International Parallel Tools Workshop held in Dresden, Germany, September 2-3, 2015, which offered an established forum for discussing the latest advances in paral...

Cosimulation of embedded system using RTOS software simulator

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shihao; Duan, Zhigang; Liu, Mingye

2003-09-01

Embedded system design often employs co-simulation to verify system's function; one efficient verification tool of software is Instruction Set Simulator (ISS). As a full functional model of target CPU, ISS interprets instruction of embedded software step by step, which usually is time-consuming since it simulates at low-level. Hence ISS often becomes the bottleneck of co-simulation in a complicated system. In this paper, a new software verification tools, the RTOS software simulator (RSS) was presented. The mechanism of its operation was described in a full details. In RSS method, RTOS API is extended and hardware simulator driver is adopted to deal with data-exchange and synchronism between the two simulators.

Using Case Study Videos as an Effective Active Learning Tool to Teach Software Development Best Practices (Invited Paper

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sushil Acharya

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The fundamental challenge to a solution to improve software quality is in the people and processes that develop software products. Imparting real world experiences in software development best practices to undergraduate students is often a challenge due to the lack of effective learning tools. This pedagogical requirement is important because graduates are expected to develop software that meets rigorous quality standards. Certain best practices are difficult to comprehend by course lectures alone and are enhanced with supplemental learning tools. Realizing the necessity of such teaching tools, we designed and developed six (6 delivery hours of case study videos for use in courses that impart knowledge on Software Verification & Validation (SV&V topics viz. requirements engineering, and software reviews. We see case study videos as an effective active learning tool in our flipped classroom approach. We present our design of the case study video in its generic components envisioning how it may be used in general. To evaluate our active learning tools we mapped the learning objectives of the case Study videos to the expected learning outcomes for ABET accreditation of an undergraduate engineering program. Our implementation has been disseminated to partner institutions. Results of delivery in a faculty workshop and in two different university courses are shared.

SafetyAnalyst : software tools for safety management of specific highway sites

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

SafetyAnalyst provides a set of software tools for use by state and local highway agencies for highway safety management. SafetyAnalyst can be used by highway agencies to improve their programming of site-specific highway safety improvements. SafetyA...

Effective and efficient software development method for real time safety systems for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manoj, P.; Parimalam, P.; Shanmugam, A.; Murali, N.

2013-01-01

The objective of this paper is to present the effective and efficient methods for developing application software for Distributed Real Time Systems for Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor. It discusses the effective ways to reduce the language and syntax errors while capturing the requirements. This paper suggests an efficient way of requirements capture and coding application software for I and C systems so that the quality factors of the software such as reliability, maintainability and testability are improved. (author)

Learning Photogrammetry with Interactive Software Tool PhoX

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Luhmann

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Photogrammetry is a complex topic in high-level university teaching, especially in the fields of geodesy, geoinformatics and metrology where high quality results are demanded. In addition, more and more black-box solutions for 3D image processing and point cloud generation are available that generate nice results easily, e.g. by structure-from-motion approaches. Within this context, the classical approach of teaching photogrammetry (e.g. focusing on aerial stereophotogrammetry has to be reformed in order to educate students and professionals with new topics and provide them with more information behind the scene. Since around 20 years photogrammetry courses at the Jade University of Applied Sciences in Oldenburg, Germany, include the use of digital photogrammetry software that provide individual exercises, deep analysis of calculation results and a wide range of visualization tools for almost all standard tasks in photogrammetry. During the last years the software package PhoX has been developed that is part of a new didactic concept in photogrammetry and related subjects. It also serves as analysis tool in recent research projects. PhoX consists of a project-oriented data structure for images, image data, measured points and features and 3D objects. It allows for almost all basic photogrammetric measurement tools, image processing, calculation methods, graphical analysis functions, simulations and much more. Students use the program in order to conduct predefined exercises where they have the opportunity to analyse results in a high level of detail. This includes the analysis of statistical quality parameters but also the meaning of transformation parameters, rotation matrices, calibration and orientation data. As one specific advantage, PhoX allows for the interactive modification of single parameters and the direct view of the resulting effect in image or object space.

Learning Photogrammetry with Interactive Software Tool PhoX

Science.gov (United States)

Luhmann, T.

2016-06-01

Photogrammetry is a complex topic in high-level university teaching, especially in the fields of geodesy, geoinformatics and metrology where high quality results are demanded. In addition, more and more black-box solutions for 3D image processing and point cloud generation are available that generate nice results easily, e.g. by structure-from-motion approaches. Within this context, the classical approach of teaching photogrammetry (e.g. focusing on aerial stereophotogrammetry) has to be reformed in order to educate students and professionals with new topics and provide them with more information behind the scene. Since around 20 years photogrammetry courses at the Jade University of Applied Sciences in Oldenburg, Germany, include the use of digital photogrammetry software that provide individual exercises, deep analysis of calculation results and a wide range of visualization tools for almost all standard tasks in photogrammetry. During the last years the software package PhoX has been developed that is part of a new didactic concept in photogrammetry and related subjects. It also serves as analysis tool in recent research projects. PhoX consists of a project-oriented data structure for images, image data, measured points and features and 3D objects. It allows for almost all basic photogrammetric measurement tools, image processing, calculation methods, graphical analysis functions, simulations and much more. Students use the program in order to conduct predefined exercises where they have the opportunity to analyse results in a high level of detail. This includes the analysis of statistical quality parameters but also the meaning of transformation parameters, rotation matrices, calibration and orientation data. As one specific advantage, PhoX allows for the interactive modification of single parameters and the direct view of the resulting effect in image or object space.

Software Construction and Composition Tools for Petascale Computing SCW0837 Progress Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Epperly, T W; Hochstein, L

2011-09-12

The majority of scientific software is distributed as source code. As the number of library dependencies and supported platforms increases, so does the complexity of describing the rules for configuring and building software. In this project, we have performed an empirical study of the magnitude of the build problem by examining the development history of two DOE-funded scientific software projects. We have developed MixDown, a meta-build tool, to simplify the task of building applications that depend on multiple third-party libraries. The results of this research indicate that the effort that scientific programmers spend takes a significant fraction of the total development effort and that the use of MixDown can significantly simplify the task of building software with multiple dependencies.

Software attribute visualization for high integrity software

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pollock, G.M.

1998-03-01

This report documents a prototype tool developed to investigate the use of visualization and virtual reality technologies for improving software surety confidence. The tool is utilized within the execution phase of the software life cycle. It provides a capability to monitor an executing program against prespecified requirements constraints provided in a program written in the requirements specification language SAGE. The resulting Software Attribute Visual Analysis Tool (SAVAnT) also provides a technique to assess the completeness of a software specification.

Power and performance software analysis and optimization

CERN Document Server

Kukunas, Jim

2015-01-01

Power and Performance: Software Analysis and Optimization is a guide to solving performance problems in modern Linux systems. Power-efficient chips are no help if the software those chips run on is inefficient. Starting with the necessary architectural background as a foundation, the book demonstrates the proper usage of performance analysis tools in order to pinpoint the cause of performance problems, and includes best practices for handling common performance issues those tools identify. Provides expert perspective from a key member of Intel's optimization team on how processors and memory

Application of the thermal efficiency analysis software 'EgWin' at existing power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koda, E.; Takahashi, T.; Nakao, Y.

2008-01-01

'EgWin' is the general purpose software to analyze a thermal efficiency of power system developed in CRIEPI. This software has been used to analyze the existing power generation unit of 30 or more, and the effectiveness has been confirmed. In thermal power plants, it was used for the clarification of the thermal efficiency decrease factor and the quantitative estimation of the influence that each factor gave to the thermal efficiency of the plant. Also it was used for the quantitative estimation of the effect by the operating condition change and the facility remodeling in thermal power, atomic energy, and geothermal power plants. (author)

LCSoft – the Life Cycle Assessment Software: New developments and status

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chavewanmas, Yodsathorn; Malakul, Pomthong; Gani, Rafiqul

2017-01-01

developed with ability to integrate with other process design tools such as process simulation software, economic analysis tool, and sustainable process design tool. In addition, several optional interpretation features are available, such as, sensitivity analysis, alternative comparison, and eco-efficiency...

Analyst Tools and Quality Control Software for the ARM Data System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moore, S.T.

2004-12-14

ATK Mission Research develops analyst tools and automated quality control software in order to assist the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Data Quality Office with their data inspection tasks. We have developed a web-based data analysis and visualization tool, called NCVweb, that allows for easy viewing of ARM NetCDF files. NCVweb, along with our library of sharable Interactive Data Language procedures and functions, allows even novice ARM researchers to be productive with ARM data with only minimal effort. We also contribute to the ARM Data Quality Office by analyzing ARM data streams, developing new quality control metrics, new diagnostic plots, and integrating this information into DQ HandS - the Data Quality Health and Status web-based explorer. We have developed several ways to detect outliers in ARM data streams and have written software to run in an automated fashion to flag these outliers.

Efficient Software HEVC to AVS2 Transcoding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yucong Chen

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The second generation of Audio and Video coding Standard (AVS is developed by the IEEE 1857 Working Group under project 1857.4 and was standardized in 2016 by the AVS Working Group of China as the new broadcasting standard AVS2. High Efficient Video Coding (HEVC is the newest global video coding standard announced in 2013. More and more codings are migrating from H.264/AVC to HEVC because of its higher compression performance. In this paper, we propose an efficient HEVC to AVS2 transcoding algorithm, which applies a multi-stage decoding information utilization framework to maximize the usage of the decoding information in the transcoding process. The proposed algorithm achieves 11×–17× speed gains over the AVS2 reference software RD 14.0 with a modest BD-rate loss of 9.6%–16.6%.

Software Quality Assurance Metrics

Science.gov (United States)

McRae, Kalindra A.

2004-01-01

Software Quality Assurance (SQA) is a planned and systematic set of activities that ensures conformance of software life cycle processes and products conform to requirements, standards and procedures. In software development, software quality means meeting requirements and a degree of excellence and refinement of a project or product. Software Quality is a set of attributes of a software product by which its quality is described and evaluated. The set of attributes includes functionality, reliability, usability, efficiency, maintainability, and portability. Software Metrics help us understand the technical process that is used to develop a product. The process is measured to improve it and the product is measured to increase quality throughout the life cycle of software. Software Metrics are measurements of the quality of software. Software is measured to indicate the quality of the product, to assess the productivity of the people who produce the product, to assess the benefits derived from new software engineering methods and tools, to form a baseline for estimation, and to help justify requests for new tools or additional training. Any part of the software development can be measured. If Software Metrics are implemented in software development, it can save time, money, and allow the organization to identify the caused of defects which have the greatest effect on software development. The summer of 2004, I worked with Cynthia Calhoun and Frank Robinson in the Software Assurance/Risk Management department. My task was to research and collect, compile, and analyze SQA Metrics that have been used in other projects that are not currently being used by the SA team and report them to the Software Assurance team to see if any metrics can be implemented in their software assurance life cycle process.

Design and implementation of a software tool intended for simulation and test of real time codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Louarn, C.

1986-09-01

The objective of real time software testing is to show off processing errors and unobserved functional requirements or timing constraints in a code. In the perspective of safety analysis of nuclear equipments of power plants testing should be carried independently from the physical process (which is not generally available), and because casual hardware failures must be considered. We propose here a simulation and test tool, integrally software, with large interactive possibilities for testing assembly code running on microprocessor. The OST (outil d'aide a la simulation et au Test de logiciels temps reel) simulates code execution and hardware or software environment behaviour. Test execution is closely monitored and many useful informations are automatically saved. The present thesis work details, after exposing methods and tools dedicated to real time software, the OST system. We show the internal mechanisms and objects of the system: particularly ''events'' (which describe evolutions of the system under test) and mnemonics (which describe the variables). Then, we detail the interactive means available to the user for constructing the test data and the environment of the tested software. Finally, a prototype implementation is presented along with the results of the tests carried out. This demonstrates the many advantages of the use of an automatic tool over a manual investigation. As a conclusion, further developments, nececessary to complete the final tool are rewieved [fr

Software essentials design and construction

CERN Document Server

Dingle, Adair

2014-01-01

About the Cover: Although capacity may be a problem for a doghouse, other requirements are usually minimal. Unlike skyscrapers, doghouses are simple units. They do not require plumbing, electricity, fire alarms, elevators, or ventilation systems, and they do not need to be built to code or pass inspections. The range of complexity in software design is similar. Given available software tools and libraries-many of which are free-hobbyists can build small or short-lived computer apps. Yet, design for software longevity, security, and efficiency can be intricate-as is the design of large-scale sy

Tools for Accurate and Efficient Analysis of Complex Evolutionary Mechanisms in Microbial Genomes. Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakhleh, Luay

2014-03-12

I proposed to develop computationally efficient tools for accurate detection and reconstruction of microbes' complex evolutionary mechanisms, thus enabling rapid and accurate annotation, analysis and understanding of their genomes. To achieve this goal, I proposed to address three aspects. (1) Mathematical modeling. A major challenge facing the accurate detection of HGT is that of distinguishing between these two events on the one hand and other events that have similar "effects." I proposed to develop a novel mathematical approach for distinguishing among these events. Further, I proposed to develop a set of novel optimization criteria for the evolutionary analysis of microbial genomes in the presence of these complex evolutionary events. (2) Algorithm design. In this aspect of the project, I proposed to develop an array of e cient and accurate algorithms for analyzing microbial genomes based on the formulated optimization criteria. Further, I proposed to test the viability of the criteria and the accuracy of the algorithms in an experimental setting using both synthetic as well as biological data. (3) Software development. I proposed the nal outcome to be a suite of software tools which implements the mathematical models as well as the algorithms developed.

A tool to include gamma analysis software into a quality assurance program.

Science.gov (United States)

Agnew, Christina E; McGarry, Conor K

2016-03-01

To provide a tool to enable gamma analysis software algorithms to be included in a quality assurance (QA) program. Four image sets were created comprising two geometric images to independently test the distance to agreement (DTA) and dose difference (DD) elements of the gamma algorithm, a clinical step and shoot IMRT field and a clinical VMAT arc. The images were analysed using global and local gamma analysis with 2 in-house and 8 commercially available software encompassing 15 software versions. The effect of image resolution on gamma pass rates was also investigated. All but one software accurately calculated the gamma passing rate for the geometric images. Variation in global gamma passing rates of 1% at 3%/3mm and over 2% at 1%/1mm was measured between software and software versions with analysis of appropriately sampled images. This study provides a suite of test images and the gamma pass rates achieved for a selection of commercially available software. This image suite will enable validation of gamma analysis software within a QA program and provide a frame of reference by which to compare results reported in the literature from various manufacturers and software versions. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

A review of electronic engineering design free software tools

OpenAIRE

Medrano Sánchez, Carlos; Plaza García, Inmaculada; Castro Gil, Manuel Alonso; García Sevilla, Francisco; Martínez Calero, J.D.; Pou Félix, Josep; Corbalán Fuertes, Montserrat

2010-01-01

In this paper, we review electronic design free software tools. We have searched open source programs that help with several tasks of the electronic design flow: analog and digital simulation, schematic capture, printed circuit board design and hardware description language compilation and simulation. Using some rapid criteria for verifying their availability, we have selected some of them which are worth working with. This work intends to perform a deeper analysis of fre...

Ignominy: a tool for software dependency and metric analysis with examples from large HEP packages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuura, L.A.; Taylor, L.

2001-01-01

Ignominy is a tool developed in the CMS IGUANA project to analyse the structure of software systems. Its primary component is a dependency scanner that distills information into human-usable forms. It also includes several tools to visualise the collected data in the form of graphical views and numerical metrics. Ignominy was designed to adapt to almost any reasonable structure, and it has been used to analyse several large projects. The original purpose of Ignominy was to help us better ensure the quality of our own software, and in particular warn us about possible structural problems early on. As a part of this activity it is now used as a standard part of our release procedure. The authors also use it to evaluate and study the quality of external packages they plan to make use of. The authors describe what Ignominy can find out, and how it can be used to visualise and assess a software structure. The authors also discuss the inherent problems of the analysis as well as the different approaches to modularity the tool makes quite evident. The focus is the illustration of these issues through the analysis results for several sizable HEP software projects

A European Commission software tool for radon risk calculation and evaluation of countermeasures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Degrange, J.P.; Levy, F.P. [CEPN, Fontenay-aux-Roses Cedex (France); Birchall, A.; Haylock, R.; Marsh, J.; Muirhead, C. [National Radiological Protection Board, Chilton (United Kingdom); Janssens, A. [European Commission, DG XI (Luxembourg)

2000-05-01

The effects of exposure to radon on workers and members of the public have been examined for many years. Recent advances have been made in evaluating the risk associated with radon exposure and in implementing remediation programmes in dwellings. However, decisions about whether to implement countermeasures to reduce radon exposures may benefit from an enhanced capability to evaluate and understand the associated health risk. In this context, the European Commission has launched a project to develop a user friendly software package based upon current information on radon epidemiology, radon dosimetry, demography, and countermeasure efficiency. The software has been designed to perform lung cancer risk calculations specific to European populations for various exposure profiles and to evaluate, in terms of risk reduction, the efficiency of various countermeasures in dwellings. This paper presents an overview of the general structure of the software and outlines its most important modelling approaches. The software is able to evaluate the risk of fatal lung cancer associated with individual or collective exposure to radon. The individual risk calculation module determines, for an individual of given age, sex and tobacco consumption, the excess risk for a given exposure (past or future exposure) time-profile, on the basis of demographic data (WHO, 1996 and 1998) specific to the selected population. The collective risk calculation module determines the excess risk for each occupant of a dwelling, for an exposure time-profile derived from data describing the dwelling, its occupancy, and the chosen countermeasures. These calculations may be done using one of two classical approaches: 1) The epidemiological approach in which the risk is obtained directly from the radon exposure data using a risk model (BEIR IV, 1988; BEIR VI, 1999) derived from epidemiological studies of uranium miners; 2) The dosimetric approach in which the risk is derived from the radon exposure data

A European Commission software tool for radon risk calculation and evaluation of countermeasures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Degrange, J.P.; Levy, F.P.; Birchall, A.; Haylock, R.; Marsh, J.; Muirhead, C.; Janssens, A.

2000-01-01

The effects of exposure to radon on workers and members of the public have been examined for many years. Recent advances have been made in evaluating the risk associated with radon exposure and in implementing remediation programmes in dwellings. However, decisions about whether to implement countermeasures to reduce radon exposures may benefit from an enhanced capability to evaluate and understand the associated health risk. In this context, the European Commission has launched a project to develop a user friendly software package based upon current information on radon epidemiology, radon dosimetry, demography, and countermeasure efficiency. The software has been designed to perform lung cancer risk calculations specific to European populations for various exposure profiles and to evaluate, in terms of risk reduction, the efficiency of various countermeasures in dwellings. This paper presents an overview of the general structure of the software and outlines its most important modelling approaches. The software is able to evaluate the risk of fatal lung cancer associated with individual or collective exposure to radon. The individual risk calculation module determines, for an individual of given age, sex and tobacco consumption, the excess risk for a given exposure (past or future exposure) time-profile, on the basis of demographic data (WHO, 1996 and 1998) specific to the selected population. The collective risk calculation module determines the excess risk for each occupant of a dwelling, for an exposure time-profile derived from data describing the dwelling, its occupancy, and the chosen countermeasures. These calculations may be done using one of two classical approaches: 1) The epidemiological approach in which the risk is obtained directly from the radon exposure data using a risk model (BEIR IV, 1988; BEIR VI, 1999) derived from epidemiological studies of uranium miners; 2) The dosimetric approach in which the risk is derived from the radon exposure data

Life Cycle Assessment Studies of Chemical and Biochemical Processes through the new LCSoft Software-tool

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Supawanich, Perapong; Malakul, Pomthong; Gani, Rafiqul

2015-01-01

requirements have to be evaluated together with environmental and economic aspects. The LCSoft software-tool has been developed to perform LCA as a stand-alone tool as well as integrated with other process design tools such as process simulation, economic analysis (ECON), and sustainable process design...

GPU-FS-kNN: a software tool for fast and scalable kNN computation using GPUs.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Shamsul Arefin

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The analysis of biological networks has become a major challenge due to the recent development of high-throughput techniques that are rapidly producing very large data sets. The exploding volumes of biological data are craving for extreme computational power and special computing facilities (i.e. super-computers. An inexpensive solution, such as General Purpose computation based on Graphics Processing Units (GPGPU, can be adapted to tackle this challenge, but the limitation of the device internal memory can pose a new problem of scalability. An efficient data and computational parallelism with partitioning is required to provide a fast and scalable solution to this problem. RESULTS: We propose an efficient parallel formulation of the k-Nearest Neighbour (kNN search problem, which is a popular method for classifying objects in several fields of research, such as pattern recognition, machine learning and bioinformatics. Being very simple and straightforward, the performance of the kNN search degrades dramatically for large data sets, since the task is computationally intensive. The proposed approach is not only fast but also scalable to large-scale instances. Based on our approach, we implemented a software tool GPU-FS-kNN (GPU-based Fast and Scalable k-Nearest Neighbour for CUDA enabled GPUs. The basic approach is simple and adaptable to other available GPU architectures. We observed speed-ups of 50-60 times compared with CPU implementation on a well-known breast microarray study and its associated data sets. CONCLUSION: Our GPU-based Fast and Scalable k-Nearest Neighbour search technique (GPU-FS-kNN provides a significant performance improvement for nearest neighbour computation in large-scale networks. Source code and the software tool is available under GNU Public License (GPL at https://sourceforge.net/p/gpufsknn/.

An open-source software tool for the generation of relaxation time maps in magnetic resonance imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Messroghli, Daniel R; Rudolph, Andre; Abdel-Aty, Hassan; Wassmuth, Ralf; Kühne, Titus; Dietz, Rainer; Schulz-Menger, Jeanette

2010-01-01

In magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, T1, T2 and T2* relaxation times represent characteristic tissue properties that can be quantified with the help of specific imaging strategies. While there are basic software tools for specific pulse sequences, until now there is no universal software program available to automate pixel-wise mapping of relaxation times from various types of images or MR systems. Such a software program would allow researchers to test and compare new imaging strategies and thus would significantly facilitate research in the area of quantitative tissue characterization. After defining requirements for a universal MR mapping tool, a software program named MRmap was created using a high-level graphics language. Additional features include a manual registration tool for source images with motion artifacts and a tabular DICOM viewer to examine pulse sequence parameters. MRmap was successfully tested on three different computer platforms with image data from three different MR system manufacturers and five different sorts of pulse sequences: multi-image inversion recovery T1; Look-Locker/TOMROP T1; modified Look-Locker (MOLLI) T1; single-echo T2/T2*; and multi-echo T2/T2*. Computing times varied between 2 and 113 seconds. Estimates of relaxation times compared favorably to those obtained from non-automated curve fitting. Completed maps were exported in DICOM format and could be read in standard software packages used for analysis of clinical and research MR data. MRmap is a flexible cross-platform research tool that enables accurate mapping of relaxation times from various pulse sequences. The software allows researchers to optimize quantitative MR strategies in a manufacturer-independent fashion. The program and its source code were made available as open-source software on the internet

An open-source software tool for the generation of relaxation time maps in magnetic resonance imaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kühne Titus

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In magnetic resonance (MR imaging, T1, T2 and T2* relaxation times represent characteristic tissue properties that can be quantified with the help of specific imaging strategies. While there are basic software tools for specific pulse sequences, until now there is no universal software program available to automate pixel-wise mapping of relaxation times from various types of images or MR systems. Such a software program would allow researchers to test and compare new imaging strategies and thus would significantly facilitate research in the area of quantitative tissue characterization. Results After defining requirements for a universal MR mapping tool, a software program named MRmap was created using a high-level graphics language. Additional features include a manual registration tool for source images with motion artifacts and a tabular DICOM viewer to examine pulse sequence parameters. MRmap was successfully tested on three different computer platforms with image data from three different MR system manufacturers and five different sorts of pulse sequences: multi-image inversion recovery T1; Look-Locker/TOMROP T1; modified Look-Locker (MOLLI T1; single-echo T2/T2*; and multi-echo T2/T2*. Computing times varied between 2 and 113 seconds. Estimates of relaxation times compared favorably to those obtained from non-automated curve fitting. Completed maps were exported in DICOM format and could be read in standard software packages used for analysis of clinical and research MR data. Conclusions MRmap is a flexible cross-platform research tool that enables accurate mapping of relaxation times from various pulse sequences. The software allows researchers to optimize quantitative MR strategies in a manufacturer-independent fashion. The program and its source code were made available as open-source software on the internet.

A new optimization tool path planning for 3-axis end milling of free-form surfaces based on efficient machining intervals

Science.gov (United States)

Vu, Duy-Duc; Monies, Frédéric; Rubio, Walter

2018-05-01

A large number of studies, based on 3-axis end milling of free-form surfaces, seek to optimize tool path planning. Approaches try to optimize the machining time by reducing the total tool path length while respecting the criterion of the maximum scallop height. Theoretically, the tool path trajectories that remove the most material follow the directions in which the machined width is the largest. The free-form surface is often considered as a single machining area. Therefore, the optimization on the entire surface is limited. Indeed, it is difficult to define tool trajectories with optimal feed directions which generate largest machined widths. Another limiting point of previous approaches for effectively reduce machining time is the inadequate choice of the tool. Researchers use generally a spherical tool on the entire surface. However, the gains proposed by these different methods developed with these tools lead to relatively small time savings. Therefore, this study proposes a new method, using toroidal milling tools, for generating toolpaths in different regions on the machining surface. The surface is divided into several regions based on machining intervals. These intervals ensure that the effective radius of the tool, at each cutter-contact points on the surface, is always greater than the radius of the tool in an optimized feed direction. A parallel plane strategy is then used on the sub-surfaces with an optimal specific feed direction for each sub-surface. This method allows one to mill the entire surface with efficiency greater than with the use of a spherical tool. The proposed method is calculated and modeled using Maple software to find optimal regions and feed directions in each region. This new method is tested on a free-form surface. A comparison is made with a spherical cutter to show the significant gains obtained with a toroidal milling cutter. Comparisons with CAM software and experimental validations are also done. The results show the

The Total Energy Efficiency Index for machine tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schudeleit, Timo; Züst, Simon; Weiss, Lukas; Wegener, Konrad

2016-01-01

Energy efficiency in industries is one of the dominating challenges of the 21st century. Since the release of the eco-design directive 2005/32/EC in 2005, great research effort has been spent on the energy efficiency assessment for energy using products. The ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standardization body (ISO/TC 39 WG 12) currently works on the ISO 14955 series in order to enable the assessment of energy efficient design of machine tools. A missing piece for completion of the ISO 14955 series is a metric to quantify the design of machine tools regarding energy efficiency based on the respective assembly of components. The metric needs to take into account each machine tool components' efficiency and the need-oriented utilization in combination with the other components while referring to efficiency limits. However, a state of the art review reveals that none of the existing metrics is feasible to adequately match this goal. This paper presents a metric that matches all these criteria to promote the development of the ISO 14955 series. The applicability of the metric is proven in a practical case study on a turning machine. - Highlights: • Study for pushing forward the standardization work on the ISO 14955 series. • Review of existing energy efficiency indicators regarding three basic strategies to foster sustainability. • Development of a metric comprising the three basic strategies to foster sustainability. • Metric application for quantifying the energy efficiency of a turning machine.

Developing a Collection of Composable Data Translation Software Units to Improve Efficiency and Reproducibility in Ecohydrologic Modeling Workflows

Science.gov (United States)

Olschanowsky, C.; Flores, A. N.; FitzGerald, K.; Masarik, M. T.; Rudisill, W. J.; Aguayo, M.

2017-12-01

Dynamic models of the spatiotemporal evolution of water, energy, and nutrient cycling are important tools to assess impacts of climate and other environmental changes on ecohydrologic systems. These models require spatiotemporally varying environmental forcings like precipitation, temperature, humidity, windspeed, and solar radiation. These input data originate from a variety of sources, including global and regional weather and climate models, global and regional reanalysis products, and geostatistically interpolated surface observations. Data translation measures, often subsetting in space and/or time and transforming and converting variable units, represent a seemingly mundane, but critical step in the application workflows. Translation steps can introduce errors, misrepresentations of data, slow execution time, and interrupt data provenance. We leverage a workflow that subsets a large regional dataset derived from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and prepares inputs to the Parflow integrated hydrologic model to demonstrate the impact translation tool software quality on scientific workflow results and performance. We propose that such workflows will benefit from a community approved collection of data transformation components. The components should be self-contained composable units of code. This design pattern enables automated parallelization and software verification, improving performance and reliability. Ensuring that individual translation components are self-contained and target minute tasks increases reliability. The small code size of each component enables effective unit and regression testing. The components can be automatically composed for efficient execution. An efficient data translation framework should be written to minimize data movement. Composing components within a single streaming process reduces data movement. Each component will typically have a low arithmetic intensity, meaning that it requires about the same number of

STARS software tool for analysis of reliability and safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poucet, A.; Guagnini, E.

1989-01-01

This paper reports on the STARS (Software Tool for the Analysis of Reliability and Safety) project aims at developing an integrated set of Computer Aided Reliability Analysis tools for the various tasks involved in systems safety and reliability analysis including hazard identification, qualitative analysis, logic model construction and evaluation. The expert system technology offers the most promising perspective for developing a Computer Aided Reliability Analysis tool. Combined with graphics and analysis capabilities, it can provide a natural engineering oriented environment for computer assisted reliability and safety modelling and analysis. For hazard identification and fault tree construction, a frame/rule based expert system is used, in which the deductive (goal driven) reasoning and the heuristic, applied during manual fault tree construction, is modelled. Expert system can explain their reasoning so that the analyst can become aware of the why and the how results are being obtained. Hence, the learning aspect involved in manual reliability and safety analysis can be maintained and improved

Development of software tools for 4-D visualization and quantitative analysis of PHITS simulation results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furutaka, Kazuyoshi

2015-02-01

A suite of software tools has been developed to facilitate the development of apparatus using a radiation transport simulation code PHITS by enabling 4D visualization (3D space and time) and quantitative analysis of so-called dieaway plots. To deliver useable tools as soon as possible, the existing software was utilized as much as possible; ParaView will be used for the 4D visualization of the results, whereas the analyses of dieaway plots will be done with ROOT toolkit with a tool named “diana”. To enable 4D visualization using ParaView, a group of tools (angel2vtk, DispDCAS1, CamPos) has been developed for the conversion of the data format to the one which can be read from ParaView and to ease the visualization. (author)

BYMUR software: a free and open source tool for quantifying and visualizing multi-risk analyses

Science.gov (United States)

Tonini, Roberto; Selva, Jacopo

2013-04-01

The BYMUR software aims to provide an easy-to-use open source tool for both computing multi-risk and managing/visualizing/comparing all the inputs (e.g. hazard, fragilities and exposure) as well as the corresponding results (e.g. risk curves, risk indexes). For all inputs, a complete management of inter-model epistemic uncertainty is considered. The BYMUR software will be one of the final products provided by the homonymous ByMuR project (http://bymur.bo.ingv.it/) funded by Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR), focused to (i) provide a quantitative and objective general method for a comprehensive long-term multi-risk analysis in a given area, accounting for inter-model epistemic uncertainty through Bayesian methodologies, and (ii) apply the methodology to seismic, volcanic and tsunami risks in Naples (Italy). More specifically, the BYMUR software will be able to separately account for the probabilistic hazard assessment of different kind of hazardous phenomena, the relative (time-dependent/independent) vulnerabilities and exposure data, and their possible (predefined) interactions: the software will analyze these inputs and will use them to estimate both single- and multi- risk associated to a specific target area. In addition, it will be possible to connect the software to further tools (e.g., a full hazard analysis), allowing a dynamic I/O of results. The use of Python programming language guarantees that the final software will be open source and platform independent. Moreover, thanks to the integration of some most popular and rich-featured Python scientific modules (Numpy, Matplotlib, Scipy) with the wxPython graphical user toolkit, the final tool will be equipped with a comprehensive Graphical User Interface (GUI) able to control and visualize (in the form of tables, maps and/or plots) any stage of the multi-risk analysis. The additional features of importing/exporting data in MySQL databases and/or standard XML formats (for

Teaching structure: student use of software tools for understanding macromolecular structure in an undergraduate biochemistry course.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaswal, Sheila S; O'Hara, Patricia B; Williamson, Patrick L; Springer, Amy L

2013-01-01

Because understanding the structure of biological macromolecules is critical to understanding their function, students of biochemistry should become familiar not only with viewing, but also with generating and manipulating structural representations. We report a strategy from a one-semester undergraduate biochemistry course to integrate use of structural representation tools into both laboratory and homework activities. First, early in the course we introduce the use of readily available open-source software for visualizing protein structure, coincident with modules on amino acid and peptide bond properties. Second, we use these same software tools in lectures and incorporate images and other structure representations in homework tasks. Third, we require a capstone project in which teams of students examine a protein-nucleic acid complex and then use the software tools to illustrate for their classmates the salient features of the structure, relating how the structure helps explain biological function. To ensure engagement with a range of software and database features, we generated a detailed template file that can be used to explore any structure, and that guides students through specific applications of many of the software tools. In presentations, students demonstrate that they are successfully interpreting structural information, and using representations to illustrate particular points relevant to function. Thus, over the semester students integrate information about structural features of biological macromolecules into the larger discussion of the chemical basis of function. Together these assignments provide an accessible introduction to structural representation tools, allowing students to add these methods to their biochemical toolboxes early in their scientific development. © 2013 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Application software, domain-specific languages, and language design assistants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. Heering (Jan)

2000-01-01

textabstractWhile application software does the real work, domain-specific languages (DSLs) are tools to help produce it efficiently, and language design assistants in turn are meta-tools to help produce DSLs quickly. DSLs are already in wide use (HTML for web pages, Excel macros for spreadsheet

"SABER": A new software tool for radiotherapy treatment plan evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Bo; Joiner, Michael C; Orton, Colin G; Burmeister, Jay

2010-11-01

Both spatial and biological information are necessary in order to perform true optimization of a treatment plan and for predicting clinical outcome. The goal of this work is to develop an enhanced treatment plan evaluation tool which incorporates biological parameters and retains spatial dose information. A software system is developed which provides biological plan evaluation with a novel combination of features. It incorporates hyper-radiosensitivity using the induced-repair model and applies the new concept of dose convolution filter (DCF) to simulate dose wash-out effects due to cell migration, bystander effect, and/or tissue motion during treatment. Further, the concept of spatial DVH (sDVH) is introduced to evaluate and potentially optimize the spatial dose distribution in the target volume. Finally, generalized equivalent uniform dose is derived from both the physical dose distribution (gEUD) and the distribution of equivalent dose in 2 Gy fractions (gEUD2) and the software provides three separate models for calculation of tumor control probability (TCP), normal tissue complication probability (NTCP), and probability of uncomplicated tumor control (P+). TCP, NTCP, and P+ are provided as a function of prescribed dose and multivariable TCP, NTCP, and P+ plots are provided to illustrate the dependence on individual parameters used to calculate these quantities. Ten plans from two clinical treatment sites are selected to test the three calculation models provided by this software. By retaining both spatial and biological information about the dose distribution, the software is able to distinguish features of radiotherapy treatment plans not discernible using commercial systems. Plans that have similar DVHs may have different spatial and biological characteristics and the application of novel tools such as sDVH and DCF within the software may substantially change the apparent plan quality or predicted plan metrics such as TCP and NTCP. For the cases examined

Contingency Contractor Optimization Phase 3 Sustainment Software Design Document - Contingency Contractor Optimization Tool - Prototype

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Durfee, Justin David; Frazier, Christopher Rawls; Bandlow, Alisa; Jones, Katherine A

2016-05-01

This document describes the final software design of the Contingency Contractor Optimization Tool - Prototype. Its purpose is to provide the overall architecture of the software and the logic behind this architecture. Documentation for the individual classes is provided in the application Javadoc. The Contingency Contractor Optimization project is intended to address Department of Defense mandates by delivering a centralized strategic planning tool that allows senior decision makers to quickly and accurately assess the impacts, risks, and mitigation strategies associated with utilizing contract support. The Contingency Contractor Optimization Tool - Prototype was developed in Phase 3 of the OSD ATL Contingency Contractor Optimization project to support strategic planning for contingency contractors. The planning tool uses a model to optimize the Total Force mix by minimizing the combined total costs for selected mission scenarios. The model optimizes the match of personnel types (military, DoD civilian, and contractors) and capabilities to meet mission requirements as effectively as possible, based on risk, cost, and other requirements.

MyETL: A Java Software Tool to Extract, Transform, and Load Your Business

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michele Nuovo

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The project follows the development of a Java Software Tool that extracts data from Flat File (Fixed Length Record Type, CSV (Comma Separated Values, and XLS (Microsoft Excel 97-2003 Worksheet file, apply transformation to those sources, and finally load the data into the end target RDBMS. The software refers to a process known as ETL (Extract Transform and Load. Those kinds of systems are called ETL systems.

COMPUTER TOOLS OF DYNAMIC MATHEMATIC SOFTWARE AND METHODICAL PROBLEMS OF THEIR USE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olena V. Semenikhina

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The article presents results of analyses of standard computer tools of dynamic mathematic software which are used in solving tasks, and tools on which the teacher can support in the teaching of mathematics. Possibility of the organization of experimental investigating of mathematical objects on the basis of these tools and the wording of new tasks on the basis of the limited number of tools, fast automated check are specified. Some methodological comments on application of computer tools and methodological features of the use of interactive mathematical environments are presented. Problems, which are arising from the use of computer tools, among which rethinking forms and methods of training by teacher, the search for creative problems, the problem of rational choice of environment, check the e-solutions, common mistakes in the use of computer tools are selected.

A Process Framework for Designing Software Reference Architectures for Providing Tools as a Service

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chauhan, Muhammad Aufeef; Babar, Muhammad Ali; Probst, Christian W.

2016-01-01

of software systems need customized and systematic SRA design and evaluation methods. In this paper, we present a software Reference Architecture Design process Framework (RADeF) that can be used for analysis, design and evaluation of the SRA for provisioning of Tools as a Service as part of a cloud......Software Reference Architecture (SRA), which is a generic architecture solution for a specific type of software systems, provides foundation for the design of concrete architectures in terms of architecture design guidelines and architecture elements. The complexity and size of certain types......-enabled workSPACE (TSPACE). The framework is based on the state of the art results from literature and our experiences with designing software architectures for cloud-based systems. We have applied RADeF SRA design two types of TSPACE: software architecting TSPACE and software implementation TSPACE...

JULIDE: a software tool for 3D reconstruction and statistical analysis of autoradiographic mouse brain sections.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Delphine Ribes

Full Text Available In this article we introduce JULIDE, a software toolkit developed to perform the 3D reconstruction, intensity normalization, volume standardization by 3D image registration and voxel-wise statistical analysis of autoradiographs of mouse brain sections. This software tool has been developed in the open-source ITK software framework and is freely available under a GPL license. The article presents the complete image processing chain from raw data acquisition to 3D statistical group analysis. Results of the group comparison in the context of a study on spatial learning are shown as an illustration of the data that can be obtained with this tool.

AMIDE: A Free Software Tool for Multimodality Medical Image Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Markus Loening

2003-07-01

Full Text Available Amide's a Medical Image Data Examiner (AMIDE has been developed as a user-friendly, open-source software tool for displaying and analyzing multimodality volumetric medical images. Central to the package's abilities to simultaneously display multiple data sets (e.g., PET, CT, MRI and regions of interest is the on-demand data reslicing implemented within the program. Data sets can be freely shifted, rotated, viewed, and analyzed with the program automatically handling interpolation as needed from the original data. Validation has been performed by comparing the output of AMIDE with that of several existing software packages. AMIDE runs on UNIX, Macintosh OS X, and Microsoft Windows platforms, and it is freely available with source code under the terms of the GNU General Public License.

Tool path in torus tool CNC machining

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

XU Ying

2016-10-01

Full Text Available This paper is about tool path in torus tool CNC machining.The mathematical model of torus tool is established.The tool path planning algorithm is determined through calculation of the cutter location,boundary discretization,calculation of adjacent tool path and so on,according to the conversion formula,the cutter contact point will be converted to the cutter location point and then these points fit a toolpath.Lastly,the path planning algorithm is implemented by using Matlab programming.The cutter location points for torus tool are calculated by Matlab,and then fit these points to a toolpath.While using UG software,another tool path of free surface is simulated of the same data.It is drew compared the two tool paths that using torus tool is more efficient.

Evaluating the Efficiency of a Multi-core Aware Multi-objective Optimization Tool for Calibrating the SWAT Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, X. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Izaurralde, R. C. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Zong, Z. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Zhao, K. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Thomson, A. M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2012-08-20

The efficiency of calibrating physically-based complex hydrologic models is a major concern in the application of those models to understand and manage natural and human activities that affect watershed systems. In this study, we developed a multi-core aware multi-objective evolutionary optimization algorithm (MAMEOA) to improve the efficiency of calibrating a worldwide used watershed model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT)). The test results show that MAMEOA can save about 1-9%, 26-51%, and 39-56% time consumed by calibrating SWAT as compared with sequential method by using dual-core, quad-core, and eight-core machines, respectively. Potential and limitations of MAMEOA for calibrating SWAT are discussed. MAMEOA is open source software.

The Solid* toolset for software visual analytics of program structure and metrics comprehension : From research prototype to product

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reniers, Dennie; Voinea, Lucian; Ersoy, Ozan; Telea, Alexandru

2014-01-01

Software visual analytics (SVA) tools combine static program analysis and fact extraction with information visualization to support program comprehension. However, building efficient and effective SVA tools is highly challenging, as it involves extensive software development in program analysis,

Software tool for resolution of inverse problems using artificial intelligence techniques: an application in neutron spectrometry; Herramienta en software para resolucion de problemas inversos mediante tecnicas de inteligencia artificial: una aplicacion en espectrometria neutronica

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Castaneda M, V. H.; Martinez B, M. R.; Solis S, L. O.; Castaneda M, R.; Leon P, A. A.; Hernandez P, C. F.; Espinoza G, J. G.; Ortiz R, J. M.; Vega C, H. R. [Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas, 98000 Zacatecas, Zac. (Mexico); Mendez, R. [CIEMAT, Departamento de Metrologia de Radiaciones Ionizantes, Laboratorio de Patrones Neutronicos, Av. Complutense 22, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Gallego, E. [Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Departamento de Ingenieria Nuclear, C. Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid (Spain); Sousa L, M. A. [Comision Nacional de Energia Nuclear, Centro de Investigacion de Tecnologia Nuclear, Av. Pte. Antonio Carlos 6627, Pampulha, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais (Brazil)

2016-10-15

The Taguchi methodology has proved to be highly efficient to solve inverse problems, in which the values of some parameters of the model must be obtained from the observed data. There are intrinsic mathematical characteristics that make a problem known as inverse. Inverse problems appear in many branches of science, engineering and mathematics. To solve this type of problem, researches have used different techniques. Recently, the use of techniques based on Artificial Intelligence technology is being explored by researches. This paper presents the use of a software tool based on artificial neural networks of generalized regression in the solution of inverse problems with application in high energy physics, specifically in the solution of the problem of neutron spectrometry. To solve this problem we use a software tool developed in the Mat Lab programming environment, which employs a friendly user interface, intuitive and easy to use for the user. This computational tool solves the inverse problem involved in the reconstruction of the neutron spectrum based on measurements made with a Bonner spheres spectrometric system. Introducing this information, the neural network is able to reconstruct the neutron spectrum with high performance and generalization capability. The tool allows that the end user does not require great training or technical knowledge in development and/or use of software, so it facilitates the use of the program for the resolution of inverse problems that are in several areas of knowledge. The techniques of Artificial Intelligence present singular veracity to solve inverse problems, given the characteristics of artificial neural networks and their network topology, therefore, the tool developed has been very useful, since the results generated by the Artificial Neural Network require few time in comparison to other techniques and are correct results comparing them with the actual data of the experiment. (Author)

Applying the metro map to software development management

Science.gov (United States)

Aguirregoitia, Amaia; Dolado, J. Javier; Presedo, Concepción

2010-01-01

This paper presents MetroMap, a new graphical representation model for controlling and managing the software development process. Metromap uses metaphors and visual representation techniques to explore several key indicators in order to support problem detection and resolution. The resulting visualization addresses diverse management tasks, such as tracking of deviations from the plan, analysis of patterns of failure detection and correction, overall assessment of change management policies, and estimation of product quality. The proposed visualization uses a metaphor with a metro map along with various interactive techniques to represent information concerning the software development process and to deal efficiently with multivariate visual queries. Finally, the paper shows the implementation of the tool in JavaFX with data of a real project and the results of testing the tool with the aforementioned data and users attempting several information retrieval tasks. The conclusion shows the results of analyzing user response time and efficiency using the MetroMap visualization system. The utility of the tool was positively evaluated.

APT - NASA ENHANCED VERSION OF AUTOMATICALLY PROGRAMMED TOOL SOFTWARE - STAND-ALONE VERSION

Science.gov (United States)

Premo, D. A.

1994-01-01

The APT code is one of the most widely used software tools for complex numerically controlled (N/C) machining. APT is an acronym for Automatically Programmed Tools and is used to denote both a language and the computer software that processes that language. Development of the APT language and software system was begun over twenty years ago as a U. S. government sponsored industry and university research effort. APT is a "problem oriented" language that was developed for the explicit purpose of aiding the N/C machine tools. Machine-tool instructions and geometry definitions are written in the APT language to constitute a "part program." The APT part program is processed by the APT software to produce a cutter location (CL) file. This CL file may then be processed by user supplied post processors to convert the CL data into a form suitable for a particular N/C machine tool. This June, 1989 offering of the APT system represents an adaptation, with enhancements, of the public domain version of APT IV/SSX8 to the DEC VAX-11/780 for use by the Engineering Services Division of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Enhancements include the super pocket feature which allows concave and convex polygon shapes of up to 40 points including shapes that overlap, that leave islands of material within the pocket, and that have one or more arcs as part of the pocket boundary. Recent modifications to APT include a rework of the POCKET subroutine and correction of an error that prevented the use within a macro of a macro variable cutter move statement combined with macro variable double check surfaces. Former modifications included the expansion of array and buffer sizes to accommodate larger part programs, and the insertion of a few user friendly error messages. The APT system software on the DEC VAX-11/780 is organized into two separate programs: the load complex and the APT processor. The load complex handles the table initiation phase and is usually only run when changes to the

CytoBayesJ: software tools for Bayesian analysis of cytogenetic radiation dosimetry data.

Science.gov (United States)

Ainsbury, Elizabeth A; Vinnikov, Volodymyr; Puig, Pedro; Maznyk, Nataliya; Rothkamm, Kai; Lloyd, David C

2013-08-30

A number of authors have suggested that a Bayesian approach may be most appropriate for analysis of cytogenetic radiation dosimetry data. In the Bayesian framework, probability of an event is described in terms of previous expectations and uncertainty. Previously existing, or prior, information is used in combination with experimental results to infer probabilities or the likelihood that a hypothesis is true. It has been shown that the Bayesian approach increases both the accuracy and quality assurance of radiation dose estimates. New software entitled CytoBayesJ has been developed with the aim of bringing Bayesian analysis to cytogenetic biodosimetry laboratory practice. CytoBayesJ takes a number of Bayesian or 'Bayesian like' methods that have been proposed in the literature and presents them to the user in the form of simple user-friendly tools, including testing for the most appropriate model for distribution of chromosome aberrations and calculations of posterior probability distributions. The individual tools are described in detail and relevant examples of the use of the methods and the corresponding CytoBayesJ software tools are given. In this way, the suitability of the Bayesian approach to biological radiation dosimetry is highlighted and its wider application encouraged by providing a user-friendly software interface and manual in English and Russian. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Patterns of Software Development Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandro Javier Bolaños Castro

2011-12-01

Full Text Available "Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">This article presents a set of patterns that can be found to perform best practices in software processes that are directly related to the problem of implementing the activities of the process, the roles involved, the knowledge generated and the inputs and outputs belonging to the process. In this work, a definition of the architecture is encouraged by using different recurrent configurations that strengthen the process and yield efficient results for the development of a software project. The patterns presented constitute a catalog, which serves as a vocabulary for communication among project participants [1], [2], and also can be implemented through software tools, thus facilitating patterns implementation [3]. Additionally, a tool that can be obtained under GPL (General Public license is provided for this purpose

The GlycanBuilder: a fast, intuitive and flexible software tool for building and displaying glycan structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Ceroni, Alessio; Dell, Anne; Haslam, Stuart M

2007-08-07

interfaces: an example is the "GlycoWorkbench", a software tool for assisted annotation of glycan mass spectra. The "GlycanBuilder" represent a flexible, reliable and efficient solution to the problem of input and output of glycan structures in any glycomic tool or database.

The GlycanBuilder: a fast, intuitive and flexible software tool for building and displaying glycan structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dell Anne

2007-08-01

applications to create intuitive and appealing user interfaces: an example is the "GlycoWorkbench", a software tool for assisted annotation of glycan mass spectra. The "GlycanBuilder" represent a flexible, reliable and efficient solution to the problem of input and output of glycan structures in any glycomic tool or database.

Assess/Mitigate Risk through the Use of Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Aguilar, Michael L.

2013-01-01

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) was requested to perform an independent assessment of the mitigation of the Constellation Program (CxP) Risk 4421 through the use of computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools. With the cancellation of the CxP, the assessment goals were modified to capture lessons learned and best practices in the use of CASE tools. The assessment goal was to prepare the next program for the use of these CASE tools. The outcome of the assessment is contained in this document.

Software Quality Improvement in the OMC Team

CERN Document Server

Maier, Viktor

Physicists use self-written software as a tool to fulfill their tasks and often the developed software is used for several years or even decades. If a software product lives for a long time, it has to be changed and adapted to external influences. This implies that the source code has to be read, understood and modified. The same applies to the software of the Optics Measurements and Corrections (OMC) team at CERN. Their task is to track, analyze and correct the beams in the LHC and other accelerators. To solve this task, they revert to a self-written software base with more than 150,000 physical lines of code. The base is subject to continuous changes as well. Their software does its job and is effective, but runs regrettably not efficient because some parts of the source code are in a bad shape and has a low quality. The implementation could be faster and more memory efficient. In addition it is difficult to read and understand the code. Source code files and functions are too big and identifiers do not rev...

Managing the Testing Process Practical Tools and Techniques for Managing Hardware and Software Testing

CERN Document Server

Black, Rex

2011-01-01

New edition of one of the most influential books on managing software and hardware testing In this new edition of his top-selling book, Rex Black walks you through the steps necessary to manage rigorous testing programs of hardware and software. The preeminent expert in his field, Mr. Black draws upon years of experience as president of both the International and American Software Testing Qualifications boards to offer this extensive resource of all the standards, methods, and tools you'll need. The book covers core testing concepts and thoroughly examines the best test management practices

SOFTWARE TOOL FOR LASER CUTTING PROCESS CONTROL – SOLVING REAL INDUSTRIAL CASE STUDIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miloš Madić

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Laser cutting is one of the leading non-conventional machining technologies with a wide spectrum of application in modern industry. It order to exploit a number of advantages that this technology offers for contour cutting of materials, it is necessary to carefully select laser cutting conditions for each given workpiece material, thickness and desired cut qualities. In other words, there is a need for process control of laser cutting. After a comprehensive analysis of the main laser cutting parameters and process performance characteristics, the application of the developed software tool “BRUTOMIZER” for off-line control of CO2 laser cutting process of three different workpiece materials (mild steel, stainless steel and aluminum is illustrated. Advantages and abilities of the developed software tool are also illustrated.

High Energy Physics Forum for Computational Excellence: Working Group Reports (I. Applications Software II. Software Libraries and Tools III. Systems)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Habib, Salman [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Roser, Robert [Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); LeCompte, Tom [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Marshall, Zach [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Borgland, Anders [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Viren, Brett [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Nugent, Peter [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Asai, Makato [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Bauerdick, Lothar [Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); Finkel, Hal [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Gottlieb, Steve [Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States); Hoeche, Stefan [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Sheldon, Paul [Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States); Vay, Jean-Luc [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Elmer, Peter [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States); Kirby, Michael [Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); Patton, Simon [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Potekhin, Maxim [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Yanny, Brian [Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); Calafiura, Paolo [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Dart, Eli [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Gutsche, Oliver [Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); Izubuchi, Taku [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Lyon, Adam [Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); Petravick, Don [Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States). National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA)

2015-10-29

Computing plays an essential role in all aspects of high energy physics. As computational technology evolves rapidly in new directions, and data throughput and volume continue to follow a steep trend-line, it is important for the HEP community to develop an effective response to a series of expected challenges. In order to help shape the desired response, the HEP Forum for Computational Excellence (HEP-FCE) initiated a roadmap planning activity with two key overlapping drivers -- 1) software effectiveness, and 2) infrastructure and expertise advancement. The HEP-FCE formed three working groups, 1) Applications Software, 2) Software Libraries and Tools, and 3) Systems (including systems software), to provide an overview of the current status of HEP computing and to present findings and opportunities for the desired HEP computational roadmap. The final versions of the reports are combined in this document, and are presented along with introductory material.

High Energy Physics Forum for Computational Excellence: Working Group Reports (I. Applications Software II. Software Libraries and Tools III. Systems)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Habib, Salman [Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); Roser, Robert [Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)

2015-10-28

Computing plays an essential role in all aspects of high energy physics. As computational technology evolves rapidly in new directions, and data throughput and volume continue to follow a steep trend-line, it is important for the HEP community to develop an effective response to a series of expected challenges. In order to help shape the desired response, the HEP Forum for Computational Excellence (HEP-FCE) initiated a roadmap planning activity with two key overlapping drivers -- 1) software effectiveness, and 2) infrastructure and expertise advancement. The HEP-FCE formed three working groups, 1) Applications Software, 2) Software Libraries and Tools, and 3) Systems (including systems software), to provide an overview of the current status of HEP computing and to present findings and opportunities for the desired HEP computational roadmap. The final versions of the reports are combined in this document, and are presented along with introductory material.

SAMPA: A free software tool for skin and membrane permeation data analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bezrouk, Aleš; Fiala, Zdeněk; Kotingová, Lenka; Krulichová, Iva Selke; Kopečná, Monika; Vávrová, Kateřina

2017-10-01

Skin and membrane permeation experiments comprise an important step in the development of a transdermal or topical formulation or toxicological risk assessment. The standard method for analyzing these data relies on the linear part of a permeation profile. However, it is difficult to objectively determine when the profile becomes linear, or the experiment duration may be insufficient to reach a maximum or steady state. Here, we present a software tool for Skin And Membrane Permeation data Analysis, SAMPA, that is easy to use and overcomes several of these difficulties. The SAMPA method and software have been validated on in vitro and in vivo permeation data on human, pig and rat skin and model stratum corneum lipid membranes using compounds that range from highly lipophilic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to highly hydrophilic antiviral drug, with and without two permeation enhancers. The SAMPA performance was compared with the standard method using a linear part of the permeation profile and a complex mathematical model. SAMPA is a user-friendly, open-source software tool for analyzing the data obtained from skin and membrane permeation experiments. It runs on a Microsoft Windows platform and is freely available as a Supporting file to this article. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advanced software tool for the creation of a typical meteorological year

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skeiker, Kamal; Ghani, Bashar Abdul

2008-01-01

The generation of a typical meteorological year is of great importance for calculations concerning many applications in the field of thermal engineering. In this context, method that has been proposed by Hall et al. is selected for generating typical data, and an improved criterion for final selection of typical meteorological month (TMM) was demonstrated. The final selection of the most representative year was done by examining a composite score S. The composite score was calculated as the weighed sum of the scores of the four meteorological parameters used. These parameters are air dry bulb temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity and global solar radiation intensity. Moreover, a new modern software tool using Delphi 6.0 has been developed, utilizing the Filkenstein-Schafer statistical method for the creation of a typical meteorological year for any site of concern. Whereas, an improved criterion for final selection of typical meteorological month was employed. Such tool allows the user to perform this task without an intimate knowledge of all of the computational details. The final alphanumerical and graphical results are presented on screen, and can be saved to a file or printed as a hard copy. Using this software tool, a typical meteorological year was generated for Damascus, capital of Syria, as a test run example. The data processed used were obtained from the Department of Meteorology and cover a period of 10 years (1991-2000)

Global Crisis as Enterprise Software Motivator: from Lifecycle Optimization to Efficient Implementation Series

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergey V. Zykov

2012-04-01

Full Text Available It is generally known that software system development lifecycle (SSDL should be managed adequately. The global economy crisis and subsequent depression have taught us certain lessons on the subject, which is so vital for enterprises. The paper presents the adaptive methodology of enterprise SSDL, which allows to avoid "local crises" while producing large-scale software. The methodology is based on extracting common ERP module level patterns and applying them to series of heterogeneous implementations. The approach includes a lifecycle model, which extends conventional spiral model by formal data representation/management models and DSL-based "low-level" CASE tools supporting the formalisms. The methodology has been successfully implemented as a series of portal-based ERP systems in ITERA oil-and-gas corporation, and in a number of trading/banking enterprise applications for other enterprises. Semantic network-based airline dispatch system, and a 6D-model-driven nuclear power plant construction support system are currently in progress. Combining various SSDL models is discussed. Terms-and-cost reduction factors are examined. Correcting SSDL according to project size and scope is overviewed. The so-called “human factor errors” resulting from non-systematic SSDL approach, and their influencing crisis and depression, are analyzed. The ways to systematic and efficient SSDL are outlined. Troubleshooting advises are given for the problems concerned.

Using a Self-Administered Visual Basic Software Tool To Teach Psychological Concepts.

Science.gov (United States)

Strang, Harold R.; Sullivan, Amie K.; Schoeny, Zahrl G.

2002-01-01

Introduces LearningLinks, a Visual Basic software tool that allows teachers to create individualized learning modules that use constructivist and behavioral learning principles. Describes field testing of undergraduates at the University of Virginia that tested a module designed to improve understanding of the psychological concepts of…

New tools for digital medical image processing implemented in DIP software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araujo, Erica A.C.; Santana, Ivan E.; Lima, Fernando R.A.; Viera, Jose W.

2011-01-01

The anthropomorphic models used in computational dosimetry, also called phantoms, are mostly built from stacks of images CT (Computed Tomography) or MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) obtained from scans of patients or volunteers. The construction of voxel phantoms requires computational processing for transforming image formats, dimensional image compression (2D) to form three-dimensional arrays (3D), quantization, resampling, enhancement, restoration and image segmentation, among others. Hardly the computational dosimetry researcher finds all these skills into a single software and often it results in a decreased development of their research or inadequate use of alternative tools. The need to integrate the various tasks of the original digital image processing to obtain an image that can be used in a computational model of exposure led to the development of software DIP (Digital Image Processing). This software reads, writes and edits binary files containing the 3D matrix corresponding to a stack of cross-sectional images of a given geometry that can be a human body or other volume of interest. It can also read any type of computer image and do conversions. When the task involves only one output image, it is saved in the JPEG standard Windows. When it involves a stack of images, the binary output file is called SGI (Interactive Graphic Simulations, a symbol already used in other publications of the Research Group in Numerical Dosimetry). The following paper presents the third version of the DIP software and emphasizes the new tools it implemented. Currently it has the menus Basics, Views, Spatial Domain, Frequency Domain, Segmentations and Study. Each menu contains items and subitems with features that generally require an image as input and produce an image or an attribute in the output. (author)

Practical experience with software tools to assess and improve the quality of existing nuclear analysis and safety codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marshall, N.H.; Marwil, E.S.; Matthews, S.D.; Stacey, B.J.

1990-01-01

Within the constraints of schedule and budget, software tools and techniques were applied to existing FORTRAN codes determining software quality metrics and improving the code quality. Specifically discussed are INEL experiences in applying pretty printers, cross-reference analyzers, and computer aided software engineering (CASE) tools and techniques. These have provided management with measures of the risk potential for individual program modules so that rational decisions can be made on resource allocation. Selected program modules have been modified to reduce the complexity, achieve higher functional independence, and improve the code vectorization. (orig.)

Use of a quality improvement tool, the prioritization matrix, to identify and prioritize triage software algorithm enhancement.

Science.gov (United States)

North, Frederick; Varkey, Prathiba; Caraballo, Pedro; Vsetecka, Darlene; Bartel, Greg

2007-10-11

Complex decision support software can require significant effort in maintenance and enhancement. A quality improvement tool, the prioritization matrix, was successfully used to guide software enhancement of algorithms in a symptom assessment call center.

Software tools to aid Pascal and Ada program design

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jankowitz, H.T.

1987-01-01

This thesis describes a software tool which analyses the style and structure of Pascal and Ada programs by ensuring that some minimum design requirements are fulfilled. The tool is used in much the same way as a compiler is used to teach students the syntax of a language, only in this case issues related to the design and structure of the program are of paramount importance. The tool operates by analyzing the design and structure of a syntactically correct program, automatically generating a report detailing changes that need to be made in order to ensure that the program is structurally sound. The author discusses how the model gradually evolved from a plagiarism detection system which extracted several measurable characteristics in a program to a model that analyzed the style of Pascal programs. In order to incorporate more-sophistical concepts like data abstraction, information hiding and data protection, this model was then extended to analyze the composition of Ada programs. The Ada model takes full advantage of facilities offered in the language and by using this tool the standard and quality of written programs is raised whilst the fundamental principles of program design are grasped through a process of self-tuition.

Activity Theory applied to Global Software Engineering: Theoretical Foundations and Implications for Tool Builders

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tell, Paolo; Ali Babar, Muhammad

2012-01-01

Although a plethora of tools are available for Global Software Engineering (GSE) teams, it is being realized increasingly that the most prevalent desktop metaphor underpinning the majority of tools have several inherent limitations. We have proposed that Activity-Based Computing (ABC) can be a pr...... in building supporting infrastructure for GSE, and describe a proof of concept prototype....

Harnessing scientific literature reports for pharmacovigilance. Prototype software analytical tool development and usability testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Sorbello, Alfred; Ripple, Anna; Tonning, Joseph; Munoz, Monica; Hasan, Rashedul; Ly, Thomas; Francis, Henry; Bodenreider, Olivier

2017-03-22

We seek to develop a prototype software analytical tool to augment FDA regulatory reviewers' capacity to harness scientific literature reports in PubMed/MEDLINE for pharmacovigilance and adverse drug event (ADE) safety signal detection. We also aim to gather feedback through usability testing to assess design, performance, and user satisfaction with the tool. A prototype, open source, web-based, software analytical tool generated statistical disproportionality data mining signal scores and dynamic visual analytics for ADE safety signal detection and management. We leveraged Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) indexing terms assigned to published citations in PubMed/MEDLINE to generate candidate drug-adverse event pairs for quantitative data mining. Six FDA regulatory reviewers participated in usability testing by employing the tool as part of their ongoing real-life pharmacovigilance activities to provide subjective feedback on its practical impact, added value, and fitness for use. All usability test participants cited the tool's ease of learning, ease of use, and generation of quantitative ADE safety signals, some of which corresponded to known established adverse drug reactions. Potential concerns included the comparability of the tool's automated literature search relative to a manual 'all fields' PubMed search, missing drugs and adverse event terms, interpretation of signal scores, and integration with existing computer-based analytical tools. Usability testing demonstrated that this novel tool can automate the detection of ADE safety signals from published literature reports. Various mitigation strategies are described to foster improvements in design, productivity, and end user satisfaction.

Methods and tools used at the IPSN for the safety assessment of critical software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Regnier, P.; Henry, J.Y.

1998-01-01

A significant feature of EDF's latest 1400MWe ''N4'' generation of pressurized water reactor (PWR) is the extensive use of computerized instrumentation and control, including a fully digital system for the reactor protection function. For the safety assessment of the software driving the operation of this digital reactor protection called SPIN, IPSN has developed and implemented a set of methods and tools. Using the lessons learned from this experience, IPSN has worked at improving those methods and tools, mainly trying to make them more automatic to use, and has participated in an international assessment exercise to test some other methods and tools, either new products on the market or self-developed products. As a result of these works, this paper presents an up to date overview of the IPSN methods and tools used for the assessment of safety critical software. This assessment, which consists of an analysis of all the documentation associated with the technical specifications and of a representative set of functions, is usually carried out in five steps: (1) critical examination of the documents, (2) evaluation of the quality of the code, (3) determination of the critical software components, (4) development of test cases and choice of testing strategy, (5) dynamic analysis (consistency and robustness). This paper also presents methods and tools developed or implemented by IPSN in order to: evaluate the completeness and consistency of specification and design documents written in natural language; build a model and simulate specification or design items; evaluate the quality of the source code; carry out FMEA analysis; run the binary code and perform tests (CLAIRE); perform random or mutational tests. (author)

QCScreen: a software tool for data quality control in LC-HRMS based metabolomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Simader, Alexandra Maria; Kluger, Bernhard; Neumann, Nora Katharina Nicole; Bueschl, Christoph; Lemmens, Marc; Lirk, Gerald; Krska, Rudolf; Schuhmacher, Rainer

2015-10-24

Metabolomics experiments often comprise large numbers of biological samples resulting in huge amounts of data. This data needs to be inspected for plausibility before data evaluation to detect putative sources of error e.g. retention time or mass accuracy shifts. Especially in liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) based metabolomics research, proper quality control checks (e.g. for precision, signal drifts or offsets) are crucial prerequisites to achieve reliable and comparable results within and across experimental measurement sequences. Software tools can support this process. The software tool QCScreen was developed to offer a quick and easy data quality check of LC-HRMS derived data. It allows a flexible investigation and comparison of basic quality-related parameters within user-defined target features and the possibility to automatically evaluate multiple sample types within or across different measurement sequences in a short time. It offers a user-friendly interface that allows an easy selection of processing steps and parameter settings. The generated results include a coloured overview plot of data quality across all analysed samples and targets and, in addition, detailed illustrations of the stability and precision of the chromatographic separation, the mass accuracy and the detector sensitivity. The use of QCScreen is demonstrated with experimental data from metabolomics experiments using selected standard compounds in pure solvent. The application of the software identified problematic features, samples and analytical parameters and suggested which data files or compounds required closer manual inspection. QCScreen is an open source software tool which provides a useful basis for assessing the suitability of LC-HRMS data prior to time consuming, detailed data processing and subsequent statistical analysis. It accepts the generic mzXML format and thus can be used with many different LC-HRMS platforms to process both multiple

Development of new generation software tools for simulation of electron beam formation in novel high power gyrotrons

Science.gov (United States)

Sabchevski, S.; Zhelyazkov, I.; Benova, E.; Atanassov, V.; Dankov, P.; Thumm, M.; Dammertz, G.; Piosczyk, B.; Illy, S.; Tran, M. Q.; Alberti, S.; Hogge, J.-Ph

2006-07-01

Computer aided design (CAD) based on numerical experiments performed by using adequate physical models and efficient simulation codes is an indispensable tool for development, investigation, and optimization of gyrotrons used as radiation sources for electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) of fusion plasmas. In this paper, we review briefly the state-of-the-art in the field of modelling and simulation of intense, relativistic, helical electron beams formed in the electron-optical systems (EOS) of powerful gyrotrons. We discuss both the limitations of the known computer codes and the requirements for increasing their capabilities for solution of various design problems that are being envisaged in the development of the next generation gyrotrons for ECRH. Moreover, we present the concept followed by us in an attempt to unite the advantages of the modern programming techniques with self-consistent, first-principles 3D physical models in the creation of a new highly efficient and versatile software package for simulation of powerful gyrotrons.

New Tools for New Literacies Research: An Exploration of Usability Testing Software

Science.gov (United States)

Asselin, Marlene; Moayeri, Maryam

2010-01-01

Competency in the new literacies of the Internet is essential for participating in contemporary society. Researchers studying these new literacies are recognizing the limitations of traditional methodological tools and adapting new technologies and new media for use in research. This paper reports our exploration of usability testing software to…

Towards a Reference Architecture to Provision Tools as a Service for Global Software Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chauhan, Aufeef; Babar, Muhammad Ali

2014-01-01

Organizations involve in Global Software Development (GSD) face challenges in terms of having access to appropriate set of tools for performing distributed engineering and development activities, integration between heterogeneous desktop and web-based tools, management of artifacts developed...... distributed environment. In this paper, we argue the need to have a cloud-enabled platform for supporting GSD and propose reference architecture of a cloud based Platform for providing support to provision ecosystem of the Tools as a Service (PTaaS)....

Training, Quality Assurance Factors, and Tools Investigation: a Work Report and Suggestions on Software Quality Assurance

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Pen-Nan

1991-01-01

Previously, several research tasks have been conducted, some observations were obtained, and several possible suggestions have been contemplated involving software quality assurance engineering at NASA Johnson. These research tasks are briefly described. Also, a brief discussion is given on the role of software quality assurance in software engineering along with some observations and suggestions. A brief discussion on a training program for software quality assurance engineers is provided. A list of assurance factors as well as quality factors are also included. Finally, a process model which can be used for searching and collecting software quality assurance tools is presented.

Evidence of absence (v2.0) software user guide

Science.gov (United States)

Dalthorp, Daniel; Huso, Manuela; Dail, David

2017-07-06

Evidence of Absence software (EoA) is a user-friendly software application for estimating bird and bat fatalities at wind farms and for designing search protocols. The software is particularly useful in addressing whether the number of fatalities is below a given threshold and what search parameters are needed to give assurance that thresholds were not exceeded. The software also includes tools (1) for estimating carcass persistence distributions and searcher efficiency parameters ( and ) from field trials, (2) for projecting future mortality based on past monitoring data, and (3) for exploring the potential consequences of various choices in the design of long-term incidental take permits for protected species. The software was designed specifically for cases where tolerance for mortality is low and carcass counts are small or even 0, but the tools also may be used for mortality estimates when carcass counts are large.

Software Quality Control at Belle II

Science.gov (United States)

Ritter, M.; Kuhr, T.; Hauth, T.; Gebard, T.; Kristof, M.; Pulvermacher, C.; Belle Software Group, II

2017-10-01

Over the last seven years the software stack of the next generation B factory experiment Belle II has grown to over one million lines of C++ and Python code, counting only the part included in offline software releases. There are several thousand commits to the central repository by about 100 individual developers per year. To keep a coherent software stack of high quality that it can be sustained and used efficiently for data acquisition, simulation, reconstruction, and analysis over the lifetime of the Belle II experiment is a challenge. A set of tools is employed to monitor the quality of the software and provide fast feedback to the developers. They are integrated in a machinery that is controlled by a buildbot master and automates the quality checks. The tools include different compilers, cppcheck, the clang static analyzer, valgrind memcheck, doxygen, a geometry overlap checker, a check for missing or extra library links, unit tests, steering file level tests, a sophisticated high-level validation suite, and an issue tracker. The technological development infrastructure is complemented by organizational means to coordinate the development.

Energy Tracking Software Platform

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ryan Davis; Nathan Bird; Rebecca Birx; Hal Knowles

2011-04-04

Acceleration has created an interactive energy tracking and visualization platform that supports decreasing electric, water, and gas usage. Homeowners have access to tools that allow them to gauge their use and track progress toward a smaller energy footprint. Real estate agents have access to consumption data, allowing for sharing a comparison with potential home buyers. Home builders have the opportunity to compare their neighborhood's energy efficiency with competitors. Home energy raters have a tool for gauging the progress of their clients after efficiency changes. And, social groups are able to help encourage members to reduce their energy bills and help their environment. EnergyIT.com is the business umbrella for all energy tracking solutions and is designed to provide information about our energy tracking software and promote sales. CompareAndConserve.com (Gainesville-Green.com) helps homeowners conserve energy through education and competition. ToolsForTenants.com helps renters factor energy usage into their housing decisions.

Genomic Islands: an overview of current software tools and future improvements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soares Siomar de Castro

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Microbes are highly diverse and widely distributed organisms. They account for ~60% of Earth’s biomass and new predictions point for the existence of 1011 to 1012 species, which are constantly sharing genes through several different mechanisms. Genomic Islands (GI are critical in this context, as they are large regions acquired through horizontal gene transfer. Also, they present common features like genomic signature deviation, transposase genes, flanking tRNAs and insertion sequences. GIs carry large numbers of genes related to specific lifestyle and are commonly classified in Pathogenicity, Resistance, Metabolic or Symbiotic Islands. With the advent of the next-generation sequencing technologies and the deluge of genomic data, many software tools have been developed that aim to tackle the problem of GI prediction and they are all based on the prediction of GI common features. However, there is still room for the development of new software tools that implements new approaches, such as, machine learning and pangenomics based analyses. Finally, GIs will always hold a potential application in every newly invented genomic approach as they are directly responsible for much of the genomic plasticity of bacteria.

Genomic Islands: an overview of current software tools and future improvements.

Science.gov (United States)

Soares, Siomar de Castro; Oliveira, Letícia de Castro; Jaiswal, Arun Kumar; Azevedo, Vasco

2016-03-01

Microbes are highly diverse and widely distributed organisms. They account for ~60% of Earth's biomass and new predictions point for the existence of 1011 to 1012 species, which are constantly sharing genes through several different mechanisms. Genomic Islands (GI) are critical in this context, as they are large regions acquired through horizontal gene transfer. Also, they present common features like genomic signature deviation, transposase genes, flanking tRNAs and insertion sequences. GIs carry large numbers of genes related to specific lifestyle and are commonly classified in Pathogenicity, Resistance, Metabolic or Symbiotic Islands. With the advent of the next-generation sequencing technologies and the deluge of genomic data, many software tools have been developed that aim to tackle the problem of GI prediction and they are all based on the prediction of GI common features. However, there is still room for the development of new software tools that implements new approaches, such as, machine learning and pangenomics based analyses. Finally, GIs will always hold a potential application in every newly invented genomic approach as they are directly responsible for much of the genomic plasticity of bacteria.

DANNP: an efficient artificial neural network pruning tool

KAUST Repository

Alshahrani, Mona

2017-11-06

Background Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are a robust class of machine learning models and are a frequent choice for solving classification problems. However, determining the structure of the ANNs is not trivial as a large number of weights (connection links) may lead to overfitting the training data. Although several ANN pruning algorithms have been proposed for the simplification of ANNs, these algorithms are not able to efficiently cope with intricate ANN structures required for complex classification problems. Methods We developed DANNP, a web-based tool, that implements parallelized versions of several ANN pruning algorithms. The DANNP tool uses a modified version of the Fast Compressed Neural Network software implemented in C++ to considerably enhance the running time of the ANN pruning algorithms we implemented. In addition to the performance evaluation of the pruned ANNs, we systematically compared the set of features that remained in the pruned ANN with those obtained by different state-of-the-art feature selection (FS) methods. Results Although the ANN pruning algorithms are not entirely parallelizable, DANNP was able to speed up the ANN pruning up to eight times on a 32-core machine, compared to the serial implementations. To assess the impact of the ANN pruning by DANNP tool, we used 16 datasets from different domains. In eight out of the 16 datasets, DANNP significantly reduced the number of weights by 70%–99%, while maintaining a competitive or better model performance compared to the unpruned ANN. Finally, we used a naïve Bayes classifier derived with the features selected as a byproduct of the ANN pruning and demonstrated that its accuracy is comparable to those obtained by the classifiers trained with the features selected by several state-of-the-art FS methods. The FS ranking methodology proposed in this study allows the users to identify the most discriminant features of the problem at hand. To the best of our knowledge, DANNP (publicly

Quality and Efficiency Improvement Tools for Every Radiologist.

Science.gov (United States)

Kudla, Alexei U; Brook, Olga R

2018-03-20

In an era of value-based medicine, data-driven quality improvement is more important than ever to ensure safe and efficient imaging services. Familiarity with high-value tools enables all radiologists to successfully engage in quality and efficiency improvement. In this article, we review the model for improvement, strategies for measurement, and common practical tools with real-life examples that include Run chart, Control chart (Shewhart chart), Fishbone (Cause-and-Effect or Ishikawa) diagram, Pareto chart, 5 Whys, and Root Cause Analysis. Copyright © 2018 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Creating a strategic plan for configuration management using computer aided software engineering (CASE) tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, P.R.; Sarfaty, R.

1993-01-01

This paper provides guidance in the definition, documentation, measurement, enhancement of processes, and validation of a strategic plan for configuration management (CM). The approach and methodology used in establishing a strategic plan is the same for any enterprise, including the Department of Energy (DOE), commercial nuclear plants, the Department of Defense (DOD), or large industrial complexes. The principles and techniques presented are used world wide by some of the largest corporations. The authors used industry knowledge and the areas of their current employment to illustrate and provide examples. Developing a strategic configuration and information management plan for DOE Idaho Field Office (DOE-ID) facilities is discussed in this paper. A good knowledge of CM principles is the key to successful strategic planning. This paper will describe and define CM elements, and discuss how CM integrates the facility's physical configuration, design basis, and documentation. The strategic plan does not need the support of a computer aided software engineering (CASE) tool. However, the use of the CASE tool provides a methodology for consistency in approach, graphics, and database capability combined to form an encyclopedia and a method of presentation that is easily understood and aids the process of reengineering. CASE tools have much more capability than those stated above. Some examples are supporting a joint application development group (JAD) to prepare a software functional specification document and, if necessary, provide the capability to automatically generate software application code. This paper briefly discusses characteristics and capabilities of two CASE tools that use different methodologies to generate similar deliverables

The Need for Systematic Naming Software Tools for Exchange of Chemical Information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrey Yerin

1999-09-01

Full Text Available The availability of systematic names can enable the simple textual exchange of chemical structure information. The exchange of molecular structures in graphical format or connection tables has become well established in the field of cheminformatics and many structure drawing tools exist to enable this exchange. However, even with the availability of systematic naming rules, software tools to allow the generation of names from structures, and hopefully the reversal of these systematic names back to the original chemical structure, have been sorely lacking in capability and quality. Here we review the need for systematic naming as well as some of the tools and approaches being taken today in this area.

Software Tools for Emittance Measurement and Matching for 12 GeV CEBAF

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turner, Dennis L. [Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), Newport News, VA (United States)

2016-05-01

This paper discusses model-driven setup of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) for the 12GeV era, focusing on qsUtility. qsUtility is a set of software tools created to perform emittance measurements, analyze those measurements, and compute optics corrections based upon the measurements.qsUtility was developed as a toolset to facilitate reducing machine configuration time and reproducibility by way of an accurate accelerator model, and to provide Operations staff with tools to measure and correct machine optics with little or no assistance from optics experts.

GMFilter and SXTestPlate: software tools for improving the SNPlex™ genotyping system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schreiber Stefan

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Genotyping of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs is a fundamental technology in modern genetics. The SNPlex™ mid-throughput genotyping system (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA enables the multiplexed genotyping of up to 48 SNPs simultaneously in a single DNA sample. The high level of automation and the large amount of data produced in a high-throughput laboratory require advanced software tools for quality control and workflow management. Results We have developed two programs, which address two main aspects of quality control in a SNPlex™ genotyping environment: GMFilter improves the analysis of SNPlex™ plates by removing wells with a low overall signal intensity. It enables scientists to automatically process the raw data in a standardized way before analyzing a plate with the proprietary GeneMapper software from Applied Biosystems. SXTestPlate examines the genotype concordance of a SNPlex™ test plate, which was typed with a control SNP set. This program allows for regular quality control checks of a SNPlex™ genotyping platform. It is compatible to other genotyping methods as well. Conclusion GMFilter and SXTestPlate provide a valuable tool set for laboratories engaged in genotyping based on the SNPlex™ system. The programs enhance the analysis of SNPlex™ plates with the GeneMapper software and enable scientists to evaluate the performance of their genotyping platform.

Post-Flight Data Analysis Tool

Science.gov (United States)

George, Marina

2018-01-01

A software tool that facilitates the retrieval and analysis of post-flight data. This allows our team and other teams to effectively and efficiently analyze and evaluate post-flight data in order to certify commercial providers.

Development of Safety-Critical Software for Nuclear Power Plant using a CASE Tool

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Chang Ho; Oh, Do Young; Kim, Koh Eun; Choi, Woong Seock; Sohn, Se Do; Kim, Jae Hack; Kim, Hang Bae [KEPCO E and C, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2011-08-15

The Integrated SOftware Development Environment (ISODE) is developed to provide the major S/W life cycle processes that are composed of development process, V/V process, requirements traceability process, and automated document generation process and target importing process to Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) platform. This provides critical safety software developers with a certified, domain optimized, model-based development environment, and the associated services to reduce time and efforts to develop software such as debugging, simulation, code generation and document generation. This also provides critical safety software verifiers with integrated V/V features of each phase of the software life cycle using appropriate tools such as model test coverage, formal verification, and automated report generation. In addition to development and verification, the ISODE gives a complete traceability solution from the SW design phase to the testing phase. Using this information, the coverage and impact analysis can be done easily whenever software modification is necessary. The final source codes of ISODE are imported into the newly developed PLC environment, as a module based after automatically converted into the format required by PLC. Additional tests for module and unit level are performed on the target platform.

Development of Safety-Critical Software for Nuclear Power Plant using a CASE Tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Chang Ho; Oh, Do Young; Kim, Koh Eun; Choi, Woong Seock; Sohn, Se Do; Kim, Jae Hack; Kim, Hang Bae

2011-01-01

The Integrated SOftware Development Environment (ISODE) is developed to provide the major S/W life cycle processes that are composed of development process, V/V process, requirements traceability process, and automated document generation process and target importing process to Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) platform. This provides critical safety software developers with a certified, domain optimized, model-based development environment, and the associated services to reduce time and efforts to develop software such as debugging, simulation, code generation and document generation. This also provides critical safety software verifiers with integrated V/V features of each phase of the software life cycle using appropriate tools such as model test coverage, formal verification, and automated report generation. In addition to development and verification, the ISODE gives a complete traceability solution from the SW design phase to the testing phase. Using this information, the coverage and impact analysis can be done easily whenever software modification is necessary. The final source codes of ISODE are imported into the newly developed PLC environment, as a module based after automatically converted into the format required by PLC. Additional tests for module and unit level are performed on the target platform

Utilization of Software Tools for Uncertainty Calculation in Measurement Science Education

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zangl, Hubert; Zine-Zine, Mariam; Hoermaier, Klaus

2015-01-01

Despite its importance, uncertainty is often neglected by practitioners in the design of system even in safety critical applications. Thus, problems arising from uncertainty may only be identified late in the design process and thus lead to additional costs. Although there exists numerous tools to support uncertainty calculation, reasons for limited usage in early design phases may be low awareness of the existence of the tools and insufficient training in the practical application. We present a teaching philosophy that addresses uncertainty from the very beginning of teaching measurement science, in particular with respect to the utilization of software tools. The developed teaching material is based on the GUM method and makes use of uncertainty toolboxes in the simulation environment. Based on examples in measurement science education we discuss advantages and disadvantages of the proposed teaching philosophy and include feedback from students

QUALITY SERVICES EVALUATION MODEL BASED ON DEDICATED SOFTWARE TOOL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ANDREEA CRISTINA IONICĂ

2012-10-01

Full Text Available In this paper we introduced a new model, called Service Quality (SQ, which combines QFD and SERVQUAL methods. This model takes from the SERVQUAL method the five dimensions of requirements and three of characteristics and from the QFD method the application methodology. The originality of the SQ model consists in computing a global index that reflects the customers’ requirements accomplishment level by the quality characteristics. In order to prove the viability of the SQ model, there was developed a software tool that was applied for the evaluation of a health care services provider.

Advanced software tools for digital loose part monitoring systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, Y.

1996-01-01

The paper describes two software modules as analysis tools for digital loose part monitoring systems. The first module is called acoustic module which utilizes the multi-media features of modern personal computers to replay the digital stored short-time bursts with sufficient length and in good quality. This is possible due to the so-called puzzle technique developed at ISTec. The second module is called classification module which calculates advanced burst parameters and classifies the acoustic events in pre-defined classes with the help of an artificial multi-layer perception neural network trained with the back propagation algorithm. (author). 7 refs, 7 figs

Object-Oriented Software Tools for the Construction of Preconditioners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eva Mossberg

1997-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, there has been considerable progress concerning preconditioned iterative methods for large and sparse systems of equations arising from the discretization of differential equations. Such methods are particularly attractive in the context of high-performance (parallel computers. However, the implementation of a preconditioner is a nontrivial task. The focus of the present contribution is on a set of object-oriented software tools that support the construction of a family of preconditioners based on fast transforms. By combining objects of different classes, it is possible to conveniently construct any preconditioner within this family.

Advanced software tools for digital loose part monitoring systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ding, Y [Institute for Safety Technology (ISTec) GmbH, Garching (Germany)

1997-12-31

The paper describes two software modules as analysis tools for digital loose part monitoring systems. The first module is called acoustic module which utilizes the multi-media features of modern personal computers to replay the digital stored short-time bursts with sufficient length and in good quality. This is possible due to the so-called puzzle technique developed at ISTec. The second module is called classification module which calculates advanced burst parameters and classifies the acoustic events in pre-defined classes with the help of an artificial multi-layer perception neural network trained with the back propagation algorithm. (author). 7 refs, 7 figs.

Software For Computer-Security Audits

Science.gov (United States)

Arndt, Kate; Lonsford, Emily

1994-01-01

Information relevant to potential breaches of security gathered efficiently. Automated Auditing Tools for VAX/VMS program includes following automated software tools performing noted tasks: Privileged ID Identification, program identifies users and their privileges to circumvent existing computer security measures; Critical File Protection, critical files not properly protected identified; Inactive ID Identification, identifications of users no longer in use found; Password Lifetime Review, maximum lifetimes of passwords of all identifications determined; and Password Length Review, minimum allowed length of passwords of all identifications determined. Written in DEC VAX DCL language.

Wiki as a Corporate Learning Tool: Case Study for Software Development Company

Science.gov (United States)

Milovanovic, Milos; Minovic, Miroslav; Stavljanin, Velimir; Savkovic, Marko; Starcevic, Dusan

2012-01-01

In our study, we attempted to further investigate how Web 2.0 technologies influence workplace learning. Our particular interest was on using Wiki as a tool for corporate exchange of knowledge with the focus on informal learning. In this study, we collaborated with a multinational software development company that uses Wiki as a corporate tool…

A software tool for evaluation of hydrogen ingress in CANDU pressure tubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mihalache, Maria; Vasile, Radu; Deaconu, Mariea

2009-01-01

The prediction of hydrogen isotopes concentration into the body and in the rolled joints of operating pressure tubes as a function of reactor hot hours is very important in many fitness-for-service assessments and end of life estimates. The rolled joints are high stress zones with potential for delayed hydride cracking. Predictive models for assessing the long-term deuterium ingress in both body and rolled joint of the pressure tubes have been implemented in a software tool, ROHID, developed in INR-Pitesti. ROHID is a PC-based Windows application with a user-friendly interface that predicts the equivalent hydrogen ingress for Zr-2.5Nb pressure tubes. It uses colour-coded reactor core maps to display the predicted deuterium concentration as a function of time for selected axial locations. Plots of deuterium versus axial location and time for individual pressure tubes are also available. Also, the software tool can predict the exceeding of hydrogen terminal solid solubility (HTSS) from hydrides during precipitation and dissolving processes as a function of time and axial location. (authors)

A software tool for soil clean-up technology selection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vranes, S.; Gonzalez-Valencia, E.; Lodolo, A.; Miertus, S.

2002-01-01

Soil remediation is a difficult, time-consuming and expensive operation. A variety of mature and emerging soil remediation technologies is available and future trends in remediation will include continued competition among environmental service companies and technology developers, which will definitely result in further increase in the clean-up options. Consequently, the demand has enhanced developing decision support tools that could help the decision makers to select the most appropriate technology for the specific contaminated site, before the costly remedial actions are taken. Therefore, a software tool for soil clean-up technology selection is currently being developed with the aim of closely working with human decision makers (site owners, local community representatives, environmentalists, regulators, etc.) to assess the available technologies and preliminarily select the preferred remedial options. The analysis for the identification of the best remedial options is based on technical, financial, environmental, and social criteria. These criteria are ranked by all involved parties to determine their relative importance for a particular project. (author)

Virtual tool mark generation for efficient striation analysis in forensic science

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ekstrand, Laura [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

2012-01-01

In 2009, a National Academy of Sciences report called for investigation into the scienti c basis behind tool mark comparisons (National Academy of Sciences, 2009). Answering this call, Chumbley et al. (2010) attempted to prove or disprove the hypothesis that tool marks are unique to a single tool. They developed a statistical algorithm that could, in most cases, discern matching and non-matching tool marks made at di erent angles by sequentially numbered screwdriver tips. Moreover, in the cases where the algorithm misinterpreted a pair of marks, an experienced forensics examiner could discern the correct outcome. While this research served to con rm the basic assumptions behind tool mark analysis, it also suggested that statistical analysis software could help to reduce the examiner's workload. This led to a new tool mark analysis approach, introduced in this thesis, that relies on 3D scans of screwdriver tip and marked plate surfaces at the micrometer scale from an optical microscope. These scans are carefully cleaned to remove noise from the data acquisition process and assigned a coordinate system that mathematically de nes angles and twists in a natural way. The marking process is then simulated by using a 3D graphics software package to impart rotations to the tip and take the projection of the tip's geometry in the direction of tool travel. The edge of this projection, retrieved from the 3D graphics software, becomes a virtual tool mark. Using this method, virtual marks are made at increments of 5 and compared to a scan of the evidence mark. The previously developed statistical package from Chumbley et al. (2010) performs the comparison, comparing the similarity of the geometry of both marks to the similarity that would occur due to random chance. The resulting statistical measure of the likelihood of the match informs the examiner of the angle of the best matching virtual mark, allowing the examiner to focus his/her mark analysis on a smaller range of angles

DASAO: software tool for the management of safeguards, waste and decommissioning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noynaert, Luc; Verwaest, Isi; Libon, Henri; Cuchet, Jean-Marie

2013-01-01

Decommissioning of nuclear facilities is a complex process involving operations such as detailed surveys, decontamination and dismantling of equipment's, demolition of buildings and management of resulting waste and nuclear materials if any. This process takes place in a well-developed legal framework and is controlled and followed-up by stakeholders like the Safety Authority, the Radwaste management Agency and the Safeguards Organism. In the framework of its nuclear waste and decommissioning program and more specifically the decommissioning of the BR3 reactor, SCK-CEN has developed different software tools to secure the waste and material traceability, to support the sound management of the decommissioning project and to facilitate the control and the follow-up by the stakeholders. In the case of Belgium, it concerns the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control, the National Agency for radioactive waste management and fissile material and EURATOM and IAEA. In 2005, Belgonucleaire decided to shutdown her Dessel MOX fuel fabrication plant and the production stopped in 2006. According to the final decommissioning plan ('PDF') approved by NIRAS, the decommissioning works should start in 2008 at the earliest. In 2006, the management of Belgonucleaire identified the need for an integrated database and decided to entrust SCK-CEN with its development, because SCK-CEN relies on previous experience in comparable applications namely already approved by authorities such as NIRAS, FANC and EURATOM. The main objectives of this integrated software tool are: - simplified and updated safeguards; - waste and material traceability; - computerized documentation; - support to project management; - periodic and final reporting to waste and safety authorities. The software called DASAO (Database for Safeguards, Waste and Decommissioning) was successfully commissioned in 2008 and extensively used from 2009 to the satisfaction of Belgonucleaire and the stakeholders. SCK-CEN is

Tool Support for Software Lookup Table Optimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chris Wilcox

2011-01-01

Full Text Available A number of scientific applications are performance-limited by expressions that repeatedly call costly elementary functions. Lookup table (LUT optimization accelerates the evaluation of such functions by reusing previously computed results. LUT methods can speed up applications that tolerate an approximation of function results, thereby achieving a high level of fuzzy reuse. One problem with LUT optimization is the difficulty of controlling the tradeoff between performance and accuracy. The current practice of manual LUT optimization adds programming effort by requiring extensive experimentation to make this tradeoff, and such hand tuning can obfuscate algorithms. In this paper we describe a methodology and tool implementation to improve the application of software LUT optimization. Our Mesa tool implements source-to-source transformations for C or C++ code to automate the tedious and error-prone aspects of LUT generation such as domain profiling, error analysis, and code generation. We evaluate Mesa with five scientific applications. Our results show a performance improvement of 3.0× and 6.9× for two molecular biology algorithms, 1.4× for a molecular dynamics program, 2.1× to 2.8× for a neural network application, and 4.6× for a hydrology calculation. We find that Mesa enables LUT optimization with more control over accuracy and less effort than manual approaches.

Using McIDAS-V data analysis and visualization software as an educational tool for understanding the atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Achtor, T. H.; Rink, T.

2010-12-01

The University of Wisconsin’s Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) has been at the forefront in developing data analysis and visualization tools for environmental satellites and other geophysical data. The fifth generation of the Man-computer Interactive Data Access System (McIDAS-V) is Java-based, open-source, freely available software that operates on Linux, Macintosh and Windows systems. The software tools provide powerful new data manipulation and visualization capabilities that work with geophysical data in research, operational and educational environments. McIDAS-V provides unique capabilities to support innovative techniques for evaluating research results, teaching and training. McIDAS-V is based on three powerful software elements. VisAD is a Java library for building interactive, collaborative, 4 dimensional visualization and analysis tools. The Integrated Data Viewer (IDV) is a reference application based on the VisAD system and developed by the Unidata program that demonstrates the flexibility that is needed in this evolving environment, using a modern, object-oriented software design approach. The third tool, HYDRA, allows users to build, display and interrogate multi and hyperspectral environmental satellite data in powerful ways. The McIDAS-V software is being used for training and education in several settings. The McIDAS User Group provides training workshops at its annual meeting. Numerous online tutorials with training data sets have been developed to aid users in learning simple and more complex operations in McIDAS-V, all are available online. In a University of Wisconsin-Madison undergraduate course in Radar and Satellite Meteorology, McIDAS-V is used to create and deliver laboratory exercises using case study and real time data. At the high school level, McIDAS-V is used in several exercises in our annual Summer Workshop in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences to provide young scientists the opportunity to examine data with friendly and

Development of a software tool and criteria evaluation for efficient design of small interfering RNA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaudhary, Aparna; Srivastava, Sonam; Garg, Sanjeev

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → The developed tool predicted siRNA constructs with better thermodynamic stability and total score based on positional and other criteria. → Off-target silencing below score 30 were observed for the best siRNA constructs for different genes. → Immunostimulation and cytotoxicity motifs considered and penalized in the developed tool. → Both positional and compositional criteria were observed to be important. -- Abstract: RNA interference can be used as a tool for gene silencing mediated by small interfering RNAs (siRNA). The critical step in effective and specific RNAi processing is the selection of suitable constructs. Major design criteria, i.e., Reynolds's design rules, thermodynamic stability, internal repeats, immunostimulatory motifs were emphasized and implemented in the siRNA design tool. The tool provides thermodynamic stability score, GC content and a total score based on other design criteria in the output. The viability of the tool was established with different datasets. In general, the siRNA constructs produced by the tool had better thermodynamic score and positional properties. Comparable thermodynamic scores and better total scores were observed with the existing tools. Moreover, the results generated had comparable off-target silencing effect. Criteria evaluations with additional criteria were achieved in WEKA.

COMSY - A software tool for PLIM + PLEX with integrated risk-informed approaches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zander, A.; Nopper, H.; Roessner, R.

2004-01-01

The majority of mechanical components and structures in a thermal power plant are designed to experience a service life which is far above the intended design life. In most cases, only a small percentage of mechanical components are subject to significant degradation which may affect the integrity or the function of the component. If plant life extension (PLEX) is considered as an option, a plant specific PLIM strategy needs to be developed. One of the most important tasks of such a PLIM strategy is to identify those components which (i) are relevant for the safety and/or availability of the plant and (ii) experience elevated degradation due to their operating and design conditions. For these components special life management strategies need to be established to reliably monitor their condition. FRAMATOME ANP GmbH has developed the software tool COMSY, which is designed to efficiently support a plant-wide lifetime management strategy for static mechanical components, providing the basis for plant life extension (PLEX) activities. The objective is the economical and safe operation of power plants over their design lifetime - and beyond. The tool provides the capability to establish a program guided technical documentation of the plant by utilizing a virtual plant data model. The software integrates engineering analysis functions and comprehensive material libraries to perform a lifetime analysis for various degradation mechanisms typically experienced in power plants (e.g. flow-accelerated corrosion, intergranular stress corrosion cracking, strain-induced cracking, material fatigue, cavitation erosion, droplet impingement erosion, pitting, etc.). A risk-based prioritization serves to focus inspection activities on safety or availability relevant locations, where a degradation potential exists. Trending functions support the comparison of the as-measured condition with the predicted progress of degradation while making allowance for measurement tolerances. The

Method for automation of tool preproduction

Science.gov (United States)

Rychkov, D. A.; Yanyushkin, A. S.; Lobanov, D. V.; Arkhipov, P. V.

2018-03-01

The primary objective of tool production is a creation or selection of such tool design which could make it possible to secure high process efficiency, tool availability as well as a quality of received surfaces with minimum means and resources spent on it. It takes much time of application people, being engaged in tool preparation, to make a correct selection of the appropriate tool among the set of variants. Program software has been developed to solve the problem, which helps to create, systematize and carry out a comparative analysis of tool design to identify the rational variant under given production conditions. The literature indicates that systematization and selection of the tool rational design has been carried out in accordance with the developed modeling technology and comparative design analysis. Software application makes it possible to reduce the period of design by 80....85% and obtain a significant annual saving.

User's Manual for ProbeCorder (Version 1.0) Data Collection Software

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Zeidler, James

1997-01-01

ProbeCorder is a pen-based software tool designed to maximize the logostocal efficiency of subsurface soil testing by automating the routine collection, integration, and storage of probe data in the field...

Evaluation of The Virtual Cells Software: a Teaching Tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C.C.P. da Silva

2005-07-01

handling,  having an accessible language,  supporting the  software  as an education  tool that is capable  to facilitate  the learning  of the fundamental concepts  about the theme.  Other  workshops are programmed to happen with participants from different educational institutions of Sao Carlos  city,  with the goal to broaden our sample.

Software reengineering

Science.gov (United States)

Fridge, Ernest M., III

1991-01-01

Today's software systems generally use obsolete technology, are not integrated properly with other software systems, and are difficult and costly to maintain. The discipline of reverse engineering is becoming prominent as organizations try to move their systems up to more modern and maintainable technology in a cost effective manner. JSC created a significant set of tools to develop and maintain FORTRAN and C code during development of the Space Shuttle. This tool set forms the basis for an integrated environment to re-engineer existing code into modern software engineering structures which are then easier and less costly to maintain and which allow a fairly straightforward translation into other target languages. The environment will support these structures and practices even in areas where the language definition and compilers do not enforce good software engineering. The knowledge and data captured using the reverse engineering tools is passed to standard forward engineering tools to redesign or perform major upgrades to software systems in a much more cost effective manner than using older technologies. A beta vision of the environment was released in Mar. 1991. The commercial potential for such re-engineering tools is very great. CASE TRENDS magazine reported it to be the primary concern of over four hundred of the top MIS executives.

The Simple Video Coder: A free tool for efficiently coding social video data.

Science.gov (United States)

Barto, Daniel; Bird, Clark W; Hamilton, Derek A; Fink, Brandi C

2017-08-01

Videotaping of experimental sessions is a common practice across many disciplines of psychology, ranging from clinical therapy, to developmental science, to animal research. Audio-visual data are a rich source of information that can be easily recorded; however, analysis of the recordings presents a major obstacle to project completion. Coding behavior is time-consuming and often requires ad-hoc training of a student coder. In addition, existing software is either prohibitively expensive or cumbersome, which leaves researchers with inadequate tools to quickly process video data. We offer the Simple Video Coder-free, open-source software for behavior coding that is flexible in accommodating different experimental designs, is intuitive for students to use, and produces outcome measures of event timing, frequency, and duration. Finally, the software also offers extraction tools to splice video into coded segments suitable for training future human coders or for use as input for pattern classification algorithms.

Applying a Framework to Evaluate Assignment Marking Software: A Case Study on Lightwork

Science.gov (United States)

Heinrich, Eva; Milne, John

2012-01-01

This article presents the findings of a qualitative evaluation on the effect of a specialised software tool on the efficiency and quality of assignment marking. The software, Lightwork, combines with the Moodle learning management system and provides support through marking rubrics and marker allocations. To enable the evaluation a framework has…

Design, Development and Delivery of Active Learning Tools in Software Verification & Validation Education

Science.gov (United States)

Acharya, Sushil; Manohar, Priyadarshan Anant; Wu, Peter; Maxim, Bruce; Hansen, Mary

2018-01-01

Active learning tools are critical in imparting real world experiences to the students within a classroom environment. This is important because graduates are expected to develop software that meets rigorous quality standards in functional and application domains with little to no training. However, there is a well-recognized need for the…

Tool Efficiency Analysis model research in SEMI industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Ma

2018-01-01

Full Text Available One of the key goals in SEMI industry is to improve equipment through put and ensure equipment production efficiency maximization. This paper is based on SEMI standards in semiconductor equipment control, defines the transaction rules between different tool states，and presents a TEA system model which is to analysis tool performance automatically based on finite state machine. The system was applied to fab tools and verified its effectiveness successfully, and obtained the parameter values used to measure the equipment performance, also including the advices of improvement.

SOLFAST, a Ray-Tracing Monte-Carlo software for solar concentrating facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roccia, J P; Piaud, B; Coustet, C; Caliot, C; Guillot, E; Flamant, G; Delatorre, J

2012-01-01

In this communication, the software SOLFAST is presented. It is a simulation tool based on the Monte-Carlo method and accelerated Ray-Tracing techniques to evaluate efficiently the energy flux in concentrated solar installations.

Analysis on machine tool systems using spindle vibration monitoring for automatic tool changer

OpenAIRE

Shang-Liang Chen; Yin-Ting Cheng; Chin-Fa Su

2015-01-01

Recently, the intelligent systems of technology have become one of the major items in the development of machine tools. One crucial technology is the machinery status monitoring function, which is required for abnormal warnings and the improvement of cutting efficiency. During processing, the mobility act of the spindle unit determines the most frequent and important part such as automatic tool changer. The vibration detection system includes the development of hardware and software, such as ...

A software tool for advanced MRgFUS prostate therapy planning and follow up

Science.gov (United States)

van Straaten, Dörte; Hoogenboom, Martijn; van Amerongen, Martinus J.; Weiler, Florian; Issawi, Jumana Al; Günther, Matthias; Fütterer, Jurgen; Jenne, Jürgen W.

2017-03-01

US guided HIFU/FUS ablation for the therapy of prostate cancer is a clinical established method, while MR guided HIFU/FUS applications for prostate recently started clinical evaluation. Even if MRI examination is an excellent diagnostic tool for prostate cancer, it is a time consuming procedure and not practicable within an MRgFUS therapy session. The aim of our ongoing work is to develop software to support therapy planning and post-therapy follow-up for MRgFUS on localized prostate cancer, based on multi-parametric MR protocols. The clinical workflow of diagnosis, therapy and follow-up of MR guided FUS on prostate cancer was deeply analyzed. Based on this, the image processing workflow was designed and all necessary components, e.g. GUI, viewer, registration tools etc. were defined and implemented. The software bases on MeVisLab with several implemented C++ modules for the image processing tasks. The developed software, called LTC (Local Therapy Control) will register and visualize automatically all images (T1w, T2w, DWI etc.) and ADC or perfusion maps gained from the diagnostic MRI session. This maximum of diagnostic information helps to segment all necessary ROIs, e.g. the tumor, for therapy planning. Final therapy planning will be performed based on these segmentation data in the following MRgFUS therapy session. In addition, the developed software should help to evaluate the therapy success, by synchronization and display of pre-therapeutic, therapy and follow-up image data including the therapy plan and thermal dose information. In this ongoing project, the first stand-alone prototype was completed and will be clinically evaluated.

A software tool for rapid flood inundation mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Verdin, James; Verdin, Kristine; Mathis, Melissa L.; Magadzire, Tamuka; Kabuchanga, Eric; Woodbury, Mark; Gadain, Hussein

2016-06-02

The GIS Flood Tool (GFT) was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance to provide a means for production of reconnaissance-level flood inundation mapping for data-sparse and resource-limited areas of the world. The GFT has also attracted interest as a tool for rapid assessment flood inundation mapping for the Flood Inundation Mapping Program of the U.S. Geological Survey. The GFT can fill an important gap for communities that lack flood inundation mapping by providing a first-estimate of inundation zones, pending availability of resources to complete an engineering study. The tool can also help identify priority areas for application of scarce flood inundation mapping resources. The technical basis of the GFT is an application of the Manning equation for steady flow in an open channel, operating on specially processed digital elevation data. The GFT is implemented as a software extension in ArcGIS. Output maps from the GFT were validated at 11 sites with inundation maps produced previously by the Flood Inundation Mapping Program using standard one-dimensional hydraulic modeling techniques. In 80 percent of the cases, the GFT inundation patterns matched 75 percent or more of the one-dimensional hydraulic model inundation patterns. Lower rates of pattern agreement were seen at sites with low relief and subtle surface water divides. Although the GFT is simple to use, it should be applied with the oversight or review of a qualified hydraulic engineer who understands the simplifying assumptions of the approach.

P-TRAP: a Panicle TRAit Phenotyping tool.

Science.gov (United States)

A L-Tam, Faroq; Adam, Helene; Anjos, António dos; Lorieux, Mathias; Larmande, Pierre; Ghesquière, Alain; Jouannic, Stefan; Shahbazkia, Hamid Reza

2013-08-29

In crops, inflorescence complexity and the shape and size of the seed are among the most important characters that influence yield. For example, rice panicles vary considerably in the number and order of branches, elongation of the axis, and the shape and size of the seed. Manual low-throughput phenotyping methods are time consuming, and the results are unreliable. However, high-throughput image analysis of the qualitative and quantitative traits of rice panicles is essential for understanding the diversity of the panicle as well as for breeding programs. This paper presents P-TRAP software (Panicle TRAit Phenotyping), a free open source application for high-throughput measurements of panicle architecture and seed-related traits. The software is written in Java and can be used with different platforms (the user-friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI) uses Netbeans Platform 7.3). The application offers three main tools: a tool for the analysis of panicle structure, a spikelet/grain counting tool, and a tool for the analysis of seed shape. The three tools can be used independently or simultaneously for analysis of the same image. Results are then reported in the Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Comma Separated Values (CSV) file formats. Images of rice panicles were used to evaluate the efficiency and robustness of the software. Compared to data obtained by manual processing, P-TRAP produced reliable results in a much shorter time. In addition, manual processing is not repeatable because dry panicles are vulnerable to damage. The software is very useful, practical and collects much more data than human operators. P-TRAP is a new open source software that automatically recognizes the structure of a panicle and the seeds on the panicle in numeric images. The software processes and quantifies several traits related to panicle structure, detects and counts the grains, and measures their shape parameters. In short, P-TRAP offers both efficient results and a user

Review of free software tools for image analysis of fluorescence cell micrographs.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiesmann, V; Franz, D; Held, C; Münzenmayer, C; Palmisano, R; Wittenberg, T

2015-01-01

An increasing number of free software tools have been made available for the evaluation of fluorescence cell micrographs. The main users are biologists and related life scientists with no or little knowledge of image processing. In this review, we give an overview of available tools and guidelines about which tools the users should use to segment fluorescence micrographs. We selected 15 free tools and divided them into stand-alone, Matlab-based, ImageJ-based, free demo versions of commercial tools and data sharing tools. The review consists of two parts: First, we developed a criteria catalogue and rated the tools regarding structural requirements, functionality (flexibility, segmentation and image processing filters) and usability (documentation, data management, usability and visualization). Second, we performed an image processing case study with four representative fluorescence micrograph segmentation tasks with figure-ground and cell separation. The tools display a wide range of functionality and usability. In the image processing case study, we were able to perform figure-ground separation in all micrographs using mainly thresholding. Cell separation was not possible with most of the tools, because cell separation methods are provided only by a subset of the tools and are difficult to parametrize and to use. Most important is that the usability matches the functionality of a tool. To be usable, specialized tools with less functionality need to fulfill less usability criteria, whereas multipurpose tools need a well-structured menu and intuitive graphical user interface. © 2014 Fraunhofer-Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS Journal of Microscopy © 2014 Royal Microscopical Society.

New design-tools for energy efficient commercial buildings. Neue Planungsinstrumente fuer energiegerechte Verwaltungsgebaeude

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Erhorn, H [Fraunhofer-Inst. fuer Bauphysik, Stuttgart (Germany); Szerman, M [Fraunhofer-Inst. fuer Bauphysik, Stuttgart (Germany)

1993-03-01

Aim of SHC-Task 12 is to develop and hand out design tools to designers, architects and engineers for the integrated evaluation of daylighting and heating/cooling concepts on an early stage of the actual design process. Concerning the software for the lighting and daylighting evaluation, the following international validated programmes are used: SUPERLITE (Radiosity); RADIANCE (Raytracing); SUPERLINK (linkage between daylighting an energy analysis). The thermal and energetic behaviour of buildings can be analysed with the simulation tools: - SUNCODE; - TRNSYS; - tsbi. The input of the programmes is handled by a common CAD programme and special converters. The software package is produced in international collaboration and will be distributed in 1993. (orig./BWI)

Software factory techniques applied to process control at CERN

CERN Document Server

Dutour, Mathias D

2008-01-01

The CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) requires constant monitoring and control of quantities of parameters to guarantee operational conditions. For this purpose, a methodology called UNICOS (UNIfied Industrial COntrols Systems) has been implemented to standardize the design of process control applications. To further accelerate the development of these applications, we migrated our existing UNICOS tooling suite toward a software factory in charge of assembling project, domain and technical information seamlessly into deployable PLC (Programmable logic Controller) - SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) systems. This software factory delivers consistently high quality by reducing human error and repetitive tasks, and adapts to user specifications in a cost-efficient way. Hence, this production tool is designed to encapsulate and hide the PLC and SCADA target platforms, enabling the experts to focus on the business model rather than specific syntaxes and grammars. Based on industry standard software, ...

Contingency Contractor Optimization Phase 3 Sustainment Third-Party Software List - Contingency Contractor Optimization Tool - Prototype

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Durfee, Justin David; Frazier, Christopher Rawls; Bandlow, Alisa

2016-05-01

The Contingency Contractor Optimization Tool - Prototype (CCOT-P) requires several third-party software packages. These are documented below for each of the CCOT-P elements: client, web server, database server, solver, web application and polling application.

A new online software tool for pressure ulcer monitoring as an educational instrument for unified nursing assessment in clinical settings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Pokorná

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Data collection and evaluation of that data is crucial for effective quality management and naturally also for prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers. Data collected in a uniform manner by nurses in clinical practice could be used for further analyses. Data about pressure ulcers are collected to differing degrees of quality based on the local policy of the given health care facility and in relation to the nurse’s actual level of knowledge concerning pressure ulcer identification and use of objective scales (i.e. categorization of pressure ulcers. Therefore, we have developed software suitable for data collection which includes some educational tools to promote unified reporting of data by nurses. A description of this software and some educational and learning components of the tool is presented herein. The planned process of clinical application of the newly developed software is also briefly mentioned. The discussion is focused on the usability of the online reporting tool and possible further development of the tool.

Modern software approaches applied to a Hydrological model: the GEOtop Open-Source Software Project

Science.gov (United States)

Cozzini, Stefano; Endrizzi, Stefano; Cordano, Emanuele; Bertoldi, Giacomo; Dall'Amico, Matteo

2017-04-01

and the suite of tests (easily manageable by means of ctest tools) greatly reduces the burden of the installation and allows us to enhance portability on different compilers and Operating system platforms. The package was also complemented by several software tools which provide web-based visualization of results based on R plugins, in particular "shiny" (Chang at al, 2016), "geotopbricks" and "geotopOptim2" (Cordano et al, 2016) packages, which allow rapid and efficient scientific validation of new examples and tests. The software re-engineering activities are still under development. However, our first results are promising enough to eventually reach a robust and stable software project that manages in a flexible way a complex state-of-the-art hydrological model like GEOtop and integrates it into wider workflows.

An application of machine learning to the organization of institutional software repositories

Science.gov (United States)

Bailin, Sidney; Henderson, Scott; Truszkowski, Walt

1993-01-01

Software reuse has become a major goal in the development of space systems, as a recent NASA-wide workshop on the subject made clear. The Data Systems Technology Division of Goddard Space Flight Center has been working on tools and techniques for promoting reuse, in particular in the development of satellite ground support software. One of these tools is the Experiment in Libraries via Incremental Schemata and Cobweb (ElvisC). ElvisC applies machine learning to the problem of organizing a reusable software component library for efficient and reliable retrieval. In this paper we describe the background factors that have motivated this work, present the design of the system, and evaluate the results of its application.

6th International Parallel Tools Workshop

CERN Document Server

Brinkmann, Steffen; Gracia, José; Resch, Michael; Nagel, Wolfgang

2013-01-01

The latest advances in the High Performance Computing hardware have significantly raised the level of available compute performance. At the same time, the growing hardware capabilities of modern supercomputing architectures have caused an increasing complexity of the parallel application development. Despite numerous efforts to improve and simplify parallel programming, there is still a lot of manual debugging and  tuning work required. This process  is supported by special software tools, facilitating debugging, performance analysis, and optimization and thus  making a major contribution to the development of  robust and efficient parallel software. This book introduces a selection of the tools, which were presented and discussed at the 6th International Parallel Tools Workshop, held in Stuttgart, Germany, 25-26 September 2012.

An open source software tool to assign the material properties of bone for ABAQUS finite element simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Pegg, Elise C; Gill, Harinderjit S

2016-09-06

A new software tool to assign the material properties of bone to an ABAQUS finite element mesh was created and compared with Bonemat, a similar tool originally designed to work with Ansys finite element models. Our software tool (py_bonemat_abaqus) was written in Python, which is the chosen scripting language for ABAQUS. The purpose of this study was to compare the software packages in terms of the material assignment calculation and processing speed. Three element types were compared (linear hexahedral (C3D8), linear tetrahedral (C3D4) and quadratic tetrahedral elements (C3D10)), both individually and as part of a mesh. Comparisons were made using a CT scan of a hemi-pelvis as a test case. A small difference, of -0.05kPa on average, was found between Bonemat version 3.1 (the current version) and our Python package. Errors were found in the previous release of Bonemat (version 3.0 downloaded from www.biomedtown.org) during calculation of the quadratic tetrahedron Jacobian, and conversion of the apparent density to modulus when integrating over the Young׳s modulus field. These issues caused up to 2GPa error in the modulus assignment. For these reasons, we recommend users upgrade to the most recent release of Bonemat. Processing speeds were assessed for the three different element types. Our Python package took significantly longer (110s on average) to perform the calculations compared with the Bonemat software (10s). Nevertheless, the workflow advantages of the package and added functionality makes 'py_bonemat_abaqus' a useful tool for ABAQUS users. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characteristics and evolution of the ecosystem of software tools supporting research in molecular biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Pazos, Florencio; Chagoyen, Monica

2018-01-16

Daily work in molecular biology presently depends on a large number of computational tools. An in-depth, large-scale study of that 'ecosystem' of Web tools, its characteristics, interconnectivity, patterns of usage/citation, temporal evolution and rate of decay is crucial for understanding the forces that shape it and for informing initiatives aimed at its funding, long-term maintenance and improvement. In particular, the long-term maintenance of these tools is compromised because of their specific development model. Hundreds of published studies become irreproducible de facto, as the software tools used to conduct them become unavailable. In this study, we present a large-scale survey of >5400 publications describing Web servers within the two main bibliographic resources for disseminating new software developments in molecular biology. For all these servers, we studied their citation patterns, the subjects they address, their citation networks and the temporal evolution of these factors. We also analysed how these factors affect the availability of these servers (whether they are alive). Our results show that this ecosystem of tools is highly interconnected and adapts to the 'trendy' subjects in every moment. The servers present characteristic temporal patterns of citation/usage, and there is a worrying rate of server 'death', which is influenced by factors such as the server popularity and the institutions that hosts it. These results can inform initiatives aimed at the long-term maintenance of these resources. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Software tool for representation and processing of experimental data on high energy interactions of elementary particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cherepanov, E.O.; Skachkov, N.B.

2002-01-01

The software tool is developed for detailed and evident displaying of information about energy and space distribution of secondary particles produced in the processes of elementary particles collisions. As input information the data on the components of 4-momenta of secondary particles is used. As for these data the information obtained from different parts of physical detector (for example, from the calorimeter or tracker) as well as the information obtained with the help of event generator is taken. The tool is intended for use in Windows operation system and is developed on the basis of Borland Delphi. Mathematical architecture of the software tool allows user to receive complete information without making additional calculations. The program automatically performs analysis of structure and distributions of signals and displays the results in a transparent form which allows their quick analysis. To display the information the three-dimensional graphic methods as well as colour decisions based on intuitive associations are also used. (author)

Aging and Plant Life Management with the Software Tool COMSY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nopper, Helmut; Rossner, Roland; Zander, Andre

2006-01-01

Within the scope of PLEX, a systematic and efficient ageing and plant life management system is becoming more and more important to ensure a safe and economical power plant operation in spite of continuous plant ageing. For the methodical implementation of PLIM and PLEX strategies, AREVA NP has developed the software tool COMSY. This knowledge-based program integrates degradation analysis tools with an inspection data management system. COMSY provides the capability to establish a program guided technical documentation by utilizing a virtual plant model which includes information regarding thermal hydraulic operation, water chemical conditions and materials applied for mechanical components. It provides the option to perform a plant-wide screening for identifying system areas, which are sensitive for degradation mechanisms typically experienced in nuclear power plants (FAC, corrosion fatigue, IGSCC, Pitting, etc.). If a system area is identified as being susceptible to degradation, a detailed analysis function enables the condition-oriented service life evaluation of vessels and piping systems in order to localize and conservatively quantify the effect of degradation. Based on these forecasts with COMSY, specific strategies can be developed to mitigate the effect of degradation and inspection activities can be focused on degradation sensitive areas. In addition, a risk-informed assessment tool serves to optimize inspection activities in respect to degradation potential and the associated damage consequence. After an in-service inspection is performed for a distinct location, the inspection data is to be evaluated according to generally accepted procedures. For this purpose an integrated inspection data management system module provides standardized, interactively operated evaluation functions. The key inspection results are transmitted as feedback in respect to the as-is condition of the component. Subsequently, all further life evaluations of the associated

General guidelines for biomedical software development [version 1; referees: 2 approved

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Bastiao Silva

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Most bioinformatics tools available today were not written by professional software developers, but by people that wanted to solve their own problems, using computational solutions and spending the minimum time and effort possible, since these were just the means to an end. Consequently, a vast number of software applications are currently available, hindering the task of identifying the utility and quality of each. At the same time, this situation has hindered regular adoption of these tools in clinical practice. Typically, they are not sufficiently developed to be used by most clinical researchers and practitioners. To address these issues, it is necessary to re-think how biomedical applications are built and adopt new strategies that ensure quality, efficiency, robustness, correctness and reusability of software components. We also need to engage end-users during the development process to ensure that applications fit their needs. In this review, we present a set of guidelines to support biomedical software development, with an explanation of how they can be implemented and what kind of open-source tools can be used for each specific topic.

General guidelines for biomedical software development [version 2; referees: 2 approved

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Bastiao Silva

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Most bioinformatics tools available today were not written by professional software developers, but by people that wanted to solve their own problems, using computational solutions and spending the minimum time and effort possible, since these were just the means to an end. Consequently, a vast number of software applications are currently available, hindering the task of identifying the utility and quality of each. At the same time, this situation has hindered regular adoption of these tools in clinical practice. Typically, they are not sufficiently developed to be used by most clinical researchers and practitioners. To address these issues, it is necessary to re-think how biomedical applications are built and adopt new strategies that ensure quality, efficiency, robustness, correctness and reusability of software components. We also need to engage end-users during the development process to ensure that applications fit their needs. In this review, we present a set of guidelines to support biomedical software development, with an explanation of how they can be implemented and what kind of open-source tools can be used for each specific topic.

A practical comparison of de novo genome assembly software tools for next-generation sequencing technologies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenyu Zhang

Full Text Available The advent of next-generation sequencing technologies is accompanied with the development of many whole-genome sequence assembly methods and software, especially for de novo fragment assembly. Due to the poor knowledge about the applicability and performance of these software tools, choosing a befitting assembler becomes a tough task. Here, we provide the information of adaptivity for each program, then above all, compare the performance of eight distinct tools against eight groups of simulated datasets from Solexa sequencing platform. Considering the computational time, maximum random access memory (RAM occupancy, assembly accuracy and integrity, our study indicate that string-based assemblers, overlap-layout-consensus (OLC assemblers are well-suited for very short reads and longer reads of small genomes respectively. For large datasets of more than hundred millions of short reads, De Bruijn graph-based assemblers would be more appropriate. In terms of software implementation, string-based assemblers are superior to graph-based ones, of which SOAPdenovo is complex for the creation of configuration file. Our comparison study will assist researchers in selecting a well-suited assembler and offer essential information for the improvement of existing assemblers or the developing of novel assemblers.

7th International Workshop on Parallel Tools for High Performance Computing

CERN Document Server

Gracia, José; Nagel, Wolfgang; Resch, Michael

2014-01-01

Current advances in High Performance Computing (HPC) increasingly impact efficient software development workflows. Programmers for HPC applications need to consider trends such as increased core counts, multiple levels of parallelism, reduced memory per core, and I/O system challenges in order to derive well performing and highly scalable codes. At the same time, the increasing complexity adds further sources of program defects. While novel programming paradigms and advanced system libraries provide solutions for some of these challenges, appropriate supporting tools are indispensable. Such tools aid application developers in debugging, performance analysis, or code optimization and therefore make a major contribution to the development of robust and efficient parallel software. This book introduces a selection of the tools presented and discussed at the 7th International Parallel Tools Workshop, held in Dresden, Germany, September 3-4, 2013.  

SimPhospho: a software tool enabling confident phosphosite assignment.

Science.gov (United States)

Suni, Veronika; Suomi, Tomi; Tsubosaka, Tomoya; Imanishi, Susumu Y; Elo, Laura L; Corthals, Garry L

2018-03-27

Mass spectrometry combined with enrichment strategies for phosphorylated peptides has been successfully employed for two decades to identify sites of phosphorylation. However, unambiguous phosphosite assignment is considered challenging. Given that site-specific phosphorylation events function as different molecular switches, validation of phosphorylation sites is of utmost importance. In our earlier study we developed a method based on simulated phosphopeptide spectral libraries, which enables highly sensitive and accurate phosphosite assignments. To promote more widespread use of this method, we here introduce a software implementation with improved usability and performance. We present SimPhospho, a fast and user-friendly tool for accurate simulation of phosphopeptide tandem mass spectra. Simulated phosphopeptide spectral libraries are used to validate and supplement database search results, with a goal to improve reliable phosphoproteome identification and reporting. The presented program can be easily used together with the Trans-Proteomic Pipeline and integrated in a phosphoproteomics data analysis workflow. SimPhospho is available for Windows, Linux and Mac operating systems at https://sourceforge.net/projects/simphospho/. It is open source and implemented in C ++. A user's manual with detailed description of data analysis using SimPhospho as well as test data can be found as supplementary material of this article. Supplementary data are available at https://www.btk.fi/research/ computational-biomedicine/software/.

Simulation software support (S3) system a software testing and debugging tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burgess, D.C.; Mahjouri, F.S.

1990-01-01

The largest percentage of technical effort in the software development process is accounted for debugging and testing. It is not unusual for a software development organization to spend over 50% of the total project effort on testing. In the extreme, testing of human-rated software (e.g., nuclear reactor monitoring, training simulator) can cost three to five times as much as all other software engineering steps combined. The Simulation Software Support (S 3 ) System, developed by the Link-Miles Simulation Corporation is ideally suited for real-time simulation applications which involve a large database with models programmed in FORTRAN. This paper will focus on testing elements of the S 3 system. In this paper system support software utilities are provided which enable the loading and execution of modules in the development environment. These elements include the Linking/Loader (LLD) for dynamically linking program modules and loading them into memory and the interactive executive (IEXEC) for controlling the execution of the modules. Features of the Interactive Symbolic Debugger (SD) and the Real Time Executive (RTEXEC) to support the unit and integrated testing will be explored

Updates on resources, software tools, and databases for plant proteomics in 2016-2017.

Science.gov (United States)

Misra, Biswapriya B

2018-02-08

Proteomics data processing, annotation, and analysis can often lead to major hurdles in large-scale high-throughput bottom-up proteomics experiments. Given the recent rise in protein-based big datasets being generated, efforts in in silico tool development occurrences have had an unprecedented increase; so much so, that it has become increasingly difficult to keep track of all the advances in a particular academic year. However, these tools benefit the plant proteomics community in circumventing critical issues in data analysis and visualization, as these continually developing open-source and community-developed tools hold potential in future research efforts. This review will aim to introduce and summarize more than 50 software tools, databases, and resources developed and published during 2016-2017 under the following categories: tools for data pre-processing and analysis, statistical analysis tools, peptide identification tools, databases and spectral libraries, and data visualization and interpretation tools. Intended for a well-informed proteomics community, finally, efforts in data archiving and validation datasets for the community will be discussed as well. Additionally, the author delineates the current and most commonly used proteomics tools in order to introduce novice readers to this -omics discovery platform. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Review of Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Tools for Verifying Command and Control Software

Science.gov (United States)

Aguilar, Michael L.; Bonanne, Kevin H.; Favretto, Jeffrey A.; Jackson, Maddalena M.; Jones, Stephanie L.; Mackey, Ryan M.; Sarrel, Marc A.; Simpson, Kimberly A.

2014-01-01

The Exploration Systems Development (ESD) Standing Review Board (SRB) requested the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) conduct an independent review of the plan developed by Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) for identifying models and emulators to create a tool(s) to verify their command and control software. The NESC was requested to identify any issues or weaknesses in the GSDO plan. This document contains the outcome of the NESC review.

Hardware replacements and software tools for digital control computers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walker, R.A.P.; Wang, B-C.; Fung, J.

1996-01-01

computers which use 'Varian' technology. A new software program, Desk Top Tools, permits the designer greater flexibility in digital control computer software design and testing. This software development allows the user to emulate control of the CANDU reactor system by system. All discussions will highlight the ability of the replacements and the new developments to enhance the operation of the existing and 'repeat' plant digital control computers and will explore future applications of these developments. Examples of current use of all replacement components and software are provided. (author)

Developing Reusable and Reconfigurable Real-Time Software using Aspects and Components

OpenAIRE

Tešanović, Aleksandra

2006-01-01

Our main focus in this thesis is on providing guidelines, methods, and tools for design, configuration, and analysis of configurable and reusable real-time software, developed using a combination of aspect-oriented and component-based software development. Specifically, we define a reconfigurable real-time component model (RTCOM) that describes how a real-time component, supporting aspects and enforcing information hiding, could efficiently be designed and implemented. In this context, we out...

Safety indicators: an efficient tool for a better safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aufort, P.; Lars, R.

1993-01-01

Safety indicators based on the examination of the Operating Technical Specifications have been defined with the aim of following the in-operation safety level of French nuclear power plants. These safety indicators are operation feedback tools which permit the a posteriori justification and the adjustment of actual procedures. They would allow detection of an abnormal unavailability occurrence rate or a situation revealing a potential safety problem. So, data acquisition, processing, analysis and display software allowing trend analysis of these indicators has been developed so far as: a reflexion tool for the power plant operators about the safety instructions and the adjustment of preventive maintenance, and a help for decision making at a national level for the examination and the improvement of Operating Technical Specifications. This paper presents the objectives of these safety indicators, the processing tool associated, the preliminary results obtained and more elaborate processing of these indicators. These safety indicators may be very useful in framing probabilistic safety assessments. (author)

Practical requirements for software tools to assist in the validation and verification of hybrid expert systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, G.P.; Cadena, D.; Burgess, J.

1992-01-01

Any practical software development effort must remain focused on verification and validation of user requirements. Knowledge-based system development is no different in this regard. In industry today, most expert systems being produced are, in reality, hybrid software systems which, in addition to those components that provide the knowledge base and expert reasoning over the problem domain using various rule-based and object-oriented paradigms, incorporate significant bodies of code based on more traditional software techniques such as database management, graphical user interfaces, hypermedia, spreadsheets, as well as specially developed sequential code. Validation and verification of such hybrid systems must perforce integrate suitable methodologies from all such fields. This paper attempts to provide a broad overview of the practical requirements for methodologies and the concomitant groupware tools which would assist in such an enterprise. These methodologies and groupware tools would facilitate the teamwork efforts necessary to validate and verify all components of such hybrid systems by emphasizing cooperative recording of requirements and negotiated resolutions of any conflicts grounded in a solid understanding of the semantics of such a system

COGNITIVE LOAD MEASUREMENT WITHIN THE RESEARCH OF EFFICIENT USAGE OF LEARNING SOFTWARE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tetiana M. Derkach

2011-05-01

Full Text Available The methods of cognitive load measurement are described within the research of efficient usage of learning Software. Their classification is given, main advantages and disadvantages are analyzed, as well as area of use of these methods is defined. The article presents an overview of modern Software and Hardware that can be used for cognitive load measurement while studying with information technologies and practical examples of such methods. The use of the secondary task method is reasoned to be the most optimal for cognitive load measurement as well as for detection of optimal conditions for student work with different learning materials. This method allows to receive objective quantification of cognitive load and to investigate its dynamics accurately.

Herramientas libres para modelar software Free tools to model software

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mauro Callejas Cuervo Óscar Yovany Baquero Moreno

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Observación acerca del  software libre y de suimplicación en procesos de desarrollo de  softwarecon herramientas 4G por parte de entidades opersonas sin capitales astronómicos y sin lamentalidad acaparadora de dominar el mercado conproductos costosos que las hagan multimillonarias yque no ofrecen una garantía real, ni la posibilidadsiquiera de conocer el  software por el que se hapagado, y mucho menos de modificarlo si no cumplenuestras expectativas.

FY1995 study of very flexible software structures based on soft-software components; 1995 nendo yawarankana software buhin ni motozuku software no choju kozo ni kansuru kenkyu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

The purpose of this study is to develop the method and tools for changing the software structure flexibly along with the continuous continuous change of its environment and conditions of use. The goal is the software of very high adaptability by using soft-software components and flexible assembly. The CASE tool platform Sapid based on a fine-grained repository was developed and enforced for raising the abstraction level of program code and for mining potential flexible components. To reconstruct the software adaptable to a required environment, the SQM (Software Quark Model) was used in managing interconnectivity and other semantic relationships of among components. On these two basic systems, we developed various methods and tools such as those for static and dynamic analysis of very flexible software structures, program transformation description, program pattern extraction and composition component optimization by partial evaluation, component extraction by function slicing, code encapsulation, and component navigation and application. (NEDO)

Decision-Making Tool for Cost-Efficient and Environmentally Friendly Wood Mobilisation

OpenAIRE

Matevž Triplat; Peter Prislan; Nike Krajnc

2015-01-01

Background and Purpose: With development of forest management technologies, the efficiency of wood production was significantly improved, and thus the impact on forests has changed as well. The article presents a practical decision-making tool for selection of most suitable harvesting system, considering given terrain as well as expected soil conditions on harvesting sites. The decision-making tool should support cost-efficient and environmentally friendly mobilisation of wood. Materials a...

A software tool for modification of human voxel models used for application in radiation protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becker, Janine; Zankl, Maria; Petoussi-Henss, Nina

2007-01-01

This note describes a new software tool called 'VolumeChange' that was developed to modify the masses and location of organs of virtual human voxel models. A voxel model is a three-dimensional representation of the human body in the form of an array of identification numbers that are arranged in slices, rows and columns. Each entry in this array represents a voxel; organs are represented by those voxels having the same identification number. With this tool, two human voxel models were adjusted to fit the reference organ masses of a male and a female adult, as defined by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). The alteration of an already existing voxel model is a complicated process, leading to many problems that have to be solved. To solve those intricacies in an easy way, a new software tool was developed and is presented here. If the organs are modified, no bit of tissue, i.e. voxel, may vanish nor should an extra one appear. That means that organs cannot be modified without considering the neighbouring tissue. Thus, the principle of organ modification is based on the reassignment of voxels from one organ/tissue to another; actually deleting and adding voxels is only possible at the external surface, i.e. skin. In the software tool described here, the modifications are done by semi-automatic routines but including human control. Because of the complexity of the matter, a skilled person has to validate that the applied changes to organs are anatomically reasonable. A graphical user interface was designed to fulfil the purpose of a comfortable working process, and an adequate graphical display of the modified voxel model was developed. Single organs, organ complexes and even whole limbs can be edited with respect to volume, shape and location. (note)

Evaluation of a new software tool for the automatic volume calculation of hepatic tumors. First results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meier, S.; Mildenberger, P.; Pitton, M.; Thelen, M.; Schenk, A.; Bourquain, H.

2004-01-01

Purpose: computed tomography has become the preferred method in detecting liver carcinomas. The introduction of spiral CT added volumetric assessment of intrahepatic tumors, which was unattainable in the clinical routine with incremental CT due to complex planimetric revisions and excessive computing time. In an ongoing clinical study, a new software tool was tested for the automatic detection of tumor volume and the time needed for this procedure. Materials and methods: we analyzed patients suffering from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). All patients underwent treatment with repeated transcatheter chemoembolization of the hepatic arteria. The volumes of the HCC lesions detected in CT were measured with the new software tool in HepaVison (MeVis, Germany). The results were compared with manual planimetric calculation of the volume performed by three independent radiologists. Results: our first results in 16 patients show a correlation between the automatically and the manually calculated volumes (up to a difference of 2 ml) of 96.8%. While the manual method of analyzing the volume of a lesion requires 2.5 minutes on average, the automatic method merely requires about 30 seconds of user interaction time. Conclusion: These preliminary results show a good correlation between automatic and manual calculations of the tumor volume. The new software tool requires less time for accurate determination of the tumor volume and can be applied in the daily clinical routine. (orig.) [de

Software factory techniques applied to Process Control at CERN

CERN Multimedia

Dutour, MD

2007-01-01

The CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) requires constant monitoring and control of quantities of parameters to guarantee operational conditions. For this purpose, a methodology called UNICOS (UNIfied Industrial COntrols Systems) has been implemented to standardize the design of process control applications. To further accelerate the development of these applications, we migrated our existing UNICOS tooling suite toward a software factory in charge of assembling project, domain and technical information seamlessly into deployable PLC (Programmable logic Controller) – SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) systems. This software factory delivers consistently high quality by reducing human error and repetitive tasks, and adapts to user specifications in a cost-efficient way. Hence, this production tool is designed to encapsulate and hide the PLC and SCADA target platforms, enabling the experts to focus on the business model rather than specific syntaxes and grammars. Based on industry standard software...

3D TRUMP - A GBI launch window tool

Science.gov (United States)

Karels, Steven N.; Hancock, John; Matchett, Gary

3D TRUMP is a novel GPS and communicatons-link software analysis tool developed for the SDIO's Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) program. 3D TRUMP uses a computationally efficient analysis tool which provides key GPS-based performance measures for an entire GBI mission's reentry vehicle and interceptor trajectories. Algorithms and sample outputs are presented.

Software tools for quantification of X-ray microtomography at the UGCT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vlassenbroeck, J. [Department of Subatomic and Radiation Physics, Ghent University, Proeftuinstraat 86, B-9000 Gent (Belgium)], E-mail: jelle.vlassenbroeck@ugent.be; Dierick, M.; Masschaele, B. [Department of Subatomic and Radiation Physics, Ghent University, Proeftuinstraat 86, B-9000 Gent (Belgium); Cnudde, V. [Department of Geology and Soil Science, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281/S8, B-9000 Gent (Belgium); Van Hoorebeke, L. [Department of Subatomic and Radiation Physics, Ghent University, Proeftuinstraat 86, B-9000 Gent (Belgium); Jacobs, P. [Department of Geology and Soil Science, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281/S8, B-9000 Gent (Belgium)

2007-09-21

The technique of X-ray microtomography using X-ray tube radiation offers an interesting tool for the non-destructive investigation of a wide range of materials. A major challenge lies in the analysis and quantification of the resulting data, allowing for a full characterization of the sample under investigation. In this paper, we discuss the software tools for reconstruction and analysis of tomographic data that are being developed at the UGCT. The tomographic reconstruction is performed using Octopus, a high-performance and user-friendly software package. The reconstruction process transforms the raw acquisition data into a stack of 2D cross-sections through the sample, resulting in a 3D data set. A number of artifact and noise reduction algorithms are integrated to reduce ring artifacts, beam hardening artifacts, COR misalignment, detector or stage tilt, pixel non-linearities, etc. These corrections are very important to facilitate the analysis of the 3D data. The analysis of the 3D data focuses primarily on the characterization of pore structures, but will be extended to other applications. A first package for the analysis of pore structures in three dimensions was developed under Matlab. A new package, called Morpho+, is being developed in a C++ environment, with optimizations and extensions of the previously used algorithms. The current status of this project will be discussed. Examples of pore analysis can be found in pharmaceuticals, material science, geology and numerous other fields.

Economic Consequence Analysis of Disasters: The ECAT Software Tool

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rose, Adam; Prager, Fynn; Chen, Zhenhua; Chatterjee, Samrat; Wei, Dan; Heatwole, Nathaniel; Warren, Eric

2017-04-15

This study develops a methodology for rapidly obtaining approximate estimates of the economic consequences from numerous natural, man-made and technological threats. This software tool is intended for use by various decision makers and analysts to obtain estimates rapidly. It is programmed in Excel and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to facilitate its use. This tool is called E-CAT (Economic Consequence Analysis Tool) and accounts for the cumulative direct and indirect impacts (including resilience and behavioral factors that significantly affect base estimates) on the U.S. economy. E-CAT is intended to be a major step toward advancing the current state of economic consequence analysis (ECA) and also contributing to and developing interest in further research into complex but rapid turnaround approaches. The essence of the methodology involves running numerous simulations in a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model for each threat, yielding synthetic data for the estimation of a single regression equation based on the identification of key explanatory variables (threat characteristics and background conditions). This transforms the results of a complex model, which is beyond the reach of most users, into a "reduced form" model that is readily comprehensible. Functionality has been built into E-CAT so that its users can switch various consequence categories on and off in order to create customized profiles of economic consequences of numerous risk events. E-CAT incorporates uncertainty on both the input and output side in the course of the analysis.

Improvements to the APBS biomolecular solvation software suite: Improvements to the APBS Software Suite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jurrus, Elizabeth [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington; Engel, Dave [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington; Star, Keith [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington; Monson, Kyle [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington; Brandi, Juan [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington; Felberg, Lisa E. [University of California, Berkeley California; Brookes, David H. [University of California, Berkeley California; Wilson, Leighton [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Michigan; Chen, Jiahui [Southern Methodist University, Dallas Texas; Liles, Karina [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington; Chun, Minju [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington; Li, Peter [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington; Gohara, David W. [St. Louis University, St. Louis Missouri; Dolinsky, Todd [FoodLogiQ, Durham North Carolina; Konecny, Robert [University of California San Diego, San Diego California; Koes, David R. [University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania; Nielsen, Jens Erik [Protein Engineering, Novozymes A/S, Copenhagen Denmark; Head-Gordon, Teresa [University of California, Berkeley California; Geng, Weihua [Southern Methodist University, Dallas Texas; Krasny, Robert [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Michigan; Wei, Guo-Wei [Michigan State University, East Lansing Michigan; Holst, Michael J. [University of California San Diego, San Diego California; McCammon, J. Andrew [University of California San Diego, San Diego California; Baker, Nathan A. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington; Brown University, Providence Rhode Island

2017-10-24

The Adaptive Poisson-Boltzmann Solver (APBS) software was developed to solve the equations of continuum electrostatics for large biomolecular assemblages that has provided impact in the study of a broad range of chemical, biological, and biomedical applications. APBS addresses three key technology challenges for understanding solvation and electrostatics in biomedical applications: accurate and efficient models for biomolecular solvation and electrostatics, robust and scalable software for applying those theories to biomolecular systems, and mechanisms for sharing and analyzing biomolecular electrostatics data in the scientific community. To address new research applications and advancing computational capabilities, we have continually updated APBS and its suite of accompanying software since its release in 2001. In this manuscript, we discuss the models and capabilities that have recently been implemented within the APBS software package including: a Poisson-Boltzmann analytical and a semi-analytical solver, an optimized boundary element solver, a geometry-based geometric flow solvation model, a graph theory based algorithm for determining pKa values, and an improved web-based visualization tool for viewing electrostatics.

In-depth evaluation of software tools for data-independent acquisition based label-free quantification.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuharev, Jörg; Navarro, Pedro; Distler, Ute; Jahn, Olaf; Tenzer, Stefan

2015-09-01

Label-free quantification (LFQ) based on data-independent acquisition workflows currently experiences increasing popularity. Several software tools have been recently published or are commercially available. The present study focuses on the evaluation of three different software packages (Progenesis, synapter, and ISOQuant) supporting ion mobility enhanced data-independent acquisition data. In order to benchmark the LFQ performance of the different tools, we generated two hybrid proteome samples of defined quantitative composition containing tryptically digested proteomes of three different species (mouse, yeast, Escherichia coli). This model dataset simulates complex biological samples containing large numbers of both unregulated (background) proteins as well as up- and downregulated proteins with exactly known ratios between samples. We determined the number and dynamic range of quantifiable proteins and analyzed the influence of applied algorithms (retention time alignment, clustering, normalization, etc.) on quantification results. Analysis of technical reproducibility revealed median coefficients of variation of reported protein abundances below 5% for MS(E) data for Progenesis and ISOQuant. Regarding accuracy of LFQ, evaluation with synapter and ISOQuant yielded superior results compared to Progenesis. In addition, we discuss reporting formats and user friendliness of the software packages. The data generated in this study have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange Consortium with identifier PXD001240 (http://proteomecentral.proteomexchange.org/dataset/PXD001240). © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Software Product Manager: A Mechanism to manage software products in small and medium ISVs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Katchow, R.; van de Weerd, I.; Brinkkemper, S.; Rooswinkel, A.

2009-01-01

In this paper, we present SP Manager as an innovative tool for managing software products in small and medium independent software vendors (ISVs). This tool incorporates the operational software product management (SPM) processes focused on requirements management and release planning. By using

Solution Proposals for Japan-Oriented Offshore Software Development in China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Lei; Zhang, Xuan; Chai, Meiping; Tan, Yibing; Miyake, Shigeru; Taniguchi, Yoji; Hosoya, Jun; Mibe, Ryota

Surveys on the Japan-oriented vendors in China were conducted twice to find out the existent problems in the Japan-oriented offshore software development. From these survey results, four main problems were found out, which were the frequent requirement changes from the product owner, the misunderstanding of the requirement specification in the vendor side, the heavy overhead of the project management and the low-efficiency communication between the product owner and the vendor. Several solutions are proposed to solve these four problems, which mainly consist of the improvement of the offshore software development process and the development of the offshore development supporting tools. The proposed offshore development process is based on the application of the prototype development, the iteration development and the customer test driven development processes. The proposed offshore development supporting tools include the project management assistant tool and the communication assistant tool.

Emerging role of bioinformatics tools and software in evolution of clinical research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Supreet Kaur Gill

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Clinical research is making toiling efforts for promotion and wellbeing of the health status of the people. There is a rapid increase in number and severity of diseases like cancer, hepatitis, HIV etc, resulting in high morbidity and mortality. Clinical research involves drug discovery and development whereas clinical trials are performed to establish safety and efficacy of drugs. Drug discovery is a long process starting with the target identification, validation and lead optimization. This is followed by the preclinical trials, intensive clinical trials and eventually post marketing vigilance for drug safety. Softwares and the bioinformatics tools play a great role not only in the drug discovery but also in drug development. It involves the use of informatics in the development of new knowledge pertaining to health and disease, data management during clinical trials and to use clinical data for secondary research. In addition, new technology likes molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, proteomics and quantitative structure activity relationship in clinical research results in faster and easier drug discovery process. During the preclinical trials, the software is used for randomization to remove bias and to plan study design. In clinical trials software like electronic data capture, Remote data capture and electronic case report form (eCRF is used to store the data. eClinical, Oracle clinical are software used for clinical data management and for statistical analysis of the data. After the drug is marketed the safety of a drug could be monitored by drug safety software like Oracle Argus or ARISg. Therefore, softwares are used from the very early stages of drug designing, to drug development, clinical trials and during pharmacovigilance. This review describes different aspects related to application of computers and bioinformatics in drug designing, discovery and development, formulation designing and clinical research.

Software Quality Assessment Tool Based on Meta-Models

OpenAIRE

Doneva Rositsa; Gaftandzhieva Silvia; Doneva Zhelyana; Staevsky Nevena

2015-01-01

In the software industry it is indisputably essential to control the quality of produced software systems in terms of capabilities for easy maintenance, reuse, portability and others in order to ensure reliability in the software development. But it is also clear that it is very difficult to achieve such a control through a ‘manual’ management of quality.There are a number of approaches for software quality assurance based typically on software quality models (e.g. ISO 9126, McCall’s, Boehm’s...

Towards a publicly available, map-based regional software tool to estimate unregulated daily streamflow at ungauged rivers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. A. Archfield

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Streamflow information is critical for addressing any number of hydrologic problems. Often, streamflow information is needed at locations that are ungauged and, therefore, have no observations on which to base water management decisions. Furthermore, there has been increasing need for daily streamflow time series to manage rivers for both human and ecological functions. To facilitate negotiation between human and ecological demands for water, this paper presents the first publicly available, map-based, regional software tool to estimate historical, unregulated, daily streamflow time series (streamflow not affected by human alteration such as dams or water withdrawals at any user-selected ungauged river location. The map interface allows users to locate and click on a river location, which then links to a spreadsheet-based program that computes estimates of daily streamflow for the river location selected. For a demonstration region in the northeast United States, daily streamflow was, in general, shown to be reliably estimated by the software tool. Estimating the highest and lowest streamflows that occurred in the demonstration region over the period from 1960 through 2004 also was accomplished but with more difficulty and limitations. The software tool provides a general framework that can be applied to other regions for which daily streamflow estimates are needed.

Towards a publicly available, map-based regional software tool to estimate unregulated daily streamflow at ungauged rivers

Science.gov (United States)

Archfield, Stacey A.; Steeves, Peter A.; Guthrie, John D.; Ries, Kernell G.

2013-01-01

Streamflow information is critical for addressing any number of hydrologic problems. Often, streamflow information is needed at locations that are ungauged and, therefore, have no observations on which to base water management decisions. Furthermore, there has been increasing need for daily streamflow time series to manage rivers for both human and ecological functions. To facilitate negotiation between human and ecological demands for water, this paper presents the first publicly available, map-based, regional software tool to estimate historical, unregulated, daily streamflow time series (streamflow not affected by human alteration such as dams or water withdrawals) at any user-selected ungauged river location. The map interface allows users to locate and click on a river location, which then links to a spreadsheet-based program that computes estimates of daily streamflow for the river location selected. For a demonstration region in the northeast United States, daily streamflow was, in general, shown to be reliably estimated by the software tool. Estimating the highest and lowest streamflows that occurred in the demonstration region over the period from 1960 through 2004 also was accomplished but with more difficulty and limitations. The software tool provides a general framework that can be applied to other regions for which daily streamflow estimates are needed.

BEST Winery Guidebook: Benchmarking and Energy and Water SavingsTool for the Wine Industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Galitsky, Christina; Worrell, Ernst; Radspieler, Anthony; Healy,Patrick; Zechiel, Susanne

2005-10-15

Not all industrial facilities have the staff or the opportunity to perform a detailed audit of their operations. The lack of knowledge of energy efficiency opportunities provides an important barrier to improving efficiency. Benchmarking has demonstrated to help energy users understand energy use and the potential for energy efficiency improvement, reducing the information barrier. In California, the wine making industry is not only one of the economic pillars of the economy; it is also a large energy consumer, with a considerable potential for energy-efficiency improvement. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Fetzer Vineyards developed an integrated benchmarking and self-assessment tool for the California wine industry called ''BEST''(Benchmarking and Energy and water Savings Tool) Winery. BEST Winery enables a winery to compare its energy efficiency to a best practice winery, accounting for differences in product mix and other characteristics of the winery. The tool enables the user to evaluate the impact of implementing energy and water efficiency measures. The tool facilitates strategic planning of efficiency measures, based on the estimated impact of the measures, their costs and savings. BEST Winery is available as a software tool in an Excel environment. This report serves as background material, documenting assumptions and information on the included energy and water efficiency measures. It also serves as a user guide for the software package.

Fluctuating Finite Element Analysis (FFEA: A continuum mechanics software tool for mesoscale simulation of biomolecules.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albert Solernou

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Fluctuating Finite Element Analysis (FFEA is a software package designed to perform continuum mechanics simulations of proteins and other globular macromolecules. It combines conventional finite element methods with stochastic thermal noise, and is appropriate for simulations of large proteins and protein complexes at the mesoscale (length-scales in the range of 5 nm to 1 μm, where there is currently a paucity of modelling tools. It requires 3D volumetric information as input, which can be low resolution structural information such as cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET maps or much higher resolution atomistic co-ordinates from which volumetric information can be extracted. In this article we introduce our open source software package for performing FFEA simulations which we have released under a GPLv3 license. The software package includes a C ++ implementation of FFEA, together with tools to assist the user to set up the system from Electron Microscopy Data Bank (EMDB or Protein Data Bank (PDB data files. We also provide a PyMOL plugin to perform basic visualisation and additional Python tools for the analysis of FFEA simulation trajectories. This manuscript provides a basic background to the FFEA method, describing the implementation of the core mechanical model and how intermolecular interactions and the solvent environment are included within this framework. We provide prospective FFEA users with a practical overview of how to set up an FFEA simulation with reference to our publicly available online tutorials and manuals that accompany this first release of the package.

Fluctuating Finite Element Analysis (FFEA): A continuum mechanics software tool for mesoscale simulation of biomolecules.

Science.gov (United States)

Solernou, Albert; Hanson, Benjamin S; Richardson, Robin A; Welch, Robert; Read, Daniel J; Harlen, Oliver G; Harris, Sarah A

2018-03-01

Fluctuating Finite Element Analysis (FFEA) is a software package designed to perform continuum mechanics simulations of proteins and other globular macromolecules. It combines conventional finite element methods with stochastic thermal noise, and is appropriate for simulations of large proteins and protein complexes at the mesoscale (length-scales in the range of 5 nm to 1 μm), where there is currently a paucity of modelling tools. It requires 3D volumetric information as input, which can be low resolution structural information such as cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) maps or much higher resolution atomistic co-ordinates from which volumetric information can be extracted. In this article we introduce our open source software package for performing FFEA simulations which we have released under a GPLv3 license. The software package includes a C ++ implementation of FFEA, together with tools to assist the user to set up the system from Electron Microscopy Data Bank (EMDB) or Protein Data Bank (PDB) data files. We also provide a PyMOL plugin to perform basic visualisation and additional Python tools for the analysis of FFEA simulation trajectories. This manuscript provides a basic background to the FFEA method, describing the implementation of the core mechanical model and how intermolecular interactions and the solvent environment are included within this framework. We provide prospective FFEA users with a practical overview of how to set up an FFEA simulation with reference to our publicly available online tutorials and manuals that accompany this first release of the package.

A software toolkit for implementing low-cost virtual reality training systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Louka, Michael N.

1999-04-01

VR is a powerful technology for implementing training systems but better tools are needed to achieve wider usage and acceptance for desktop computer-based training applications. A need has been identified for a software tool kit to support the efficient implementation of well-structured desktop VR training systems. A powerful toolkit for implementing scalable low-cost VR training applications is described in this report (author) (ml)

A Practical Introduction to HardwareSoftware Codesign

CERN Document Server

Schaumont, Patrick R

2013-01-01

This textbook provides an introduction to embedded systems design, with emphasis on integration of custom hardware components with software. The key problem addressed in the book is the following: how can an embedded systems designer strike a balance between flexibility and efficiency? The book describes how combining hardware design with software design leads to a solution to this important computer engineering problem. The book covers four topics in hardware/software codesign: fundamentals, the design space of custom architectures, the hardware/software interface and application examples. The book comes with an associated design environment that helps the reader to perform experiments in hardware/software codesign. Each chapter also includes exercises and further reading suggestions. Improvements in this second edition include labs and examples using modern FPGA environments from Xilinx and Altera, which make the material applicable to a greater number of courses where these tools are already in use.  Mo...

EVA: Exome Variation Analyzer, an efficient and versatile tool for filtering strategies in medical genomics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Coutant Sophie

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Whole exome sequencing (WES has become the strategy of choice to identify a coding allelic variant for a rare human monogenic disorder. This approach is a revolution in medical genetics history, impacting both fundamental research, and diagnostic methods leading to personalized medicine. A plethora of efficient algorithms has been developed to ensure the variant discovery. They generally lead to ~20,000 variations that have to be narrow down to find the potential pathogenic allelic variant(s and the affected gene(s. For this purpose, commonly adopted procedures which implicate various filtering strategies have emerged: exclusion of common variations, type of the allelics variants, pathogenicity effect prediction, modes of inheritance and multiple individuals for exome comparison. To deal with the expansion of WES in medical genomics individual laboratories, new convivial and versatile software tools have to implement these filtering steps. Non-programmer biologists have to be autonomous combining themselves different filtering criteria and conduct a personal strategy depending on their assumptions and study design. Results We describe EVA (Exome Variation Analyzer, a user-friendly web-interfaced software dedicated to the filtering strategies for medical WES. Thanks to different modules, EVA (i integrates and stores annotated exome variation data as strictly confidential to the project owner, (ii allows to combine the main filters dealing with common variations, molecular types, inheritance mode and multiple samples, (iii offers the browsing of annotated data and filtered results in various interactive tables, graphical visualizations and statistical charts, (iv and finally offers export files and cross-links to external useful databases and softwares for further prioritization of the small subset of sorted candidate variations and genes. We report a demonstrative case study that allowed to identify a new candidate gene

Application software, domain-specific languages, and language design assistants

OpenAIRE

Heering, Jan

2000-01-01

textabstractWhile application software does the real work, domain-specific languages (DSLs) are tools to help produce it efficiently, and language design assistants in turn are meta-tools to help produce DSLs quickly. DSLs are already in wide use (HTML for web pages, Excel macros for spreadsheet applications, VHDL for hardware design, ...), but many more will be needed for both new as well as existing application domains. Language design assistants to help develop them currently exist only in...

CoCoNUT: an efficient system for the comparison and analysis of genomes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kurtz Stefan

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Comparative genomics is the analysis and comparison of genomes from different species. This area of research is driven by the large number of sequenced genomes and heavily relies on efficient algorithms and software to perform pairwise and multiple genome comparisons. Results Most of the software tools available are tailored for one specific task. In contrast, we have developed a novel system CoCoNUT (Computational Comparative geNomics Utility Toolkit that allows solving several different tasks in a unified framework: (1 finding regions of high similarity among multiple genomic sequences and aligning them, (2 comparing two draft or multi-chromosomal genomes, (3 locating large segmental duplications in large genomic sequences, and (4 mapping cDNA/EST to genomic sequences. Conclusion CoCoNUT is competitive with other software tools w.r.t. the quality of the results. The use of state of the art algorithms and data structures allows CoCoNUT to solve comparative genomics tasks more efficiently than previous tools. With the improved user interface (including an interactive visualization component, CoCoNUT provides a unified, versatile, and easy-to-use software tool for large scale studies in comparative genomics.

Strengthening Software Authentication with the ROSE Software Suite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, G

2006-01-01

Many recent nonproliferation and arms control software projects include a software authentication regime. These include U.S. Government-sponsored projects both in the United States and in the Russian Federation (RF). This trend toward requiring software authentication is only accelerating. Demonstrating assurance that software performs as expected without hidden ''backdoors'' is crucial to a project's success. In this context, ''authentication'' is defined as determining that a software package performs only its intended purpose and performs said purpose correctly and reliably over the planned duration of an agreement. In addition to visual inspections by knowledgeable computer scientists, automated tools are needed to highlight suspicious code constructs, both to aid visual inspection and to guide program development. While many commercial tools are available for portions of the authentication task, they are proprietary and not extensible. An open-source, extensible tool can be customized to the unique needs of each project (projects can have both common and custom rules to detect flaws and security holes). Any such extensible tool has to be based on a complete language compiler. ROSE is precisely such a compiler infrastructure developed within the Department of Energy (DOE) and targeted at the optimization of scientific applications and user-defined libraries within large-scale applications (typically applications of a million lines of code). ROSE is a robust, source-to-source analysis and optimization infrastructure currently addressing large, million-line DOE applications in C and C++ (handling the full C, C99, C++ languages and with current collaborations to support Fortran90). We propose to extend ROSE to address a number of security-specific requirements, and apply it to software authentication for nonproliferation and arms control projects

Data analysis software tools for enhanced collaboration at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schachter, J.; Peng, Q.; Schissel, D.P.

2000-01-01

Data analysis at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility is simplified by the use of two software packages in analysis codes. The first is 'GAPlotObj', an IDL-based object-oriented library used in visualization tools for dynamic plotting. GAPlotObj gives users the ability to manipulate graphs directly through mouse and keyboard-driven commands. The second software package is 'MDSplus', which is used at DIII-D as a central repository for analyzed data. GAPlotObj and MDSplus reduce the effort required for a collaborator to become familiar with the DIII-D analysis environment by providing uniform interfaces for data display and retrieval. Two visualization tools at DIII-D that benefit from them are 'ReviewPlus' and 'EFITviewer'. ReviewPlus is capable of displaying interactive 2D and 3D graphs of raw, analyzed, and simulation code data. EFITviewer is used to display results from the EFIT analysis code together with kinetic profiles and machine geometry. Both bring new possibilities for data exploration to the user, and are able to plot data from any fusion research site with an MDSplus data server

Data Analysis Software Tools for Enhanced Collaboration at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schachter, J.; Peng, Q.; Schissel, D.P.

1999-01-01

Data analysis at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility is simplified by the use of two software packages in analysis codes. The first is GAP1otObj, an IDL-based object-oriented library used in visualization tools for dynamic plotting. GAPlotObj gives users the ability to manipulate graphs directly through mouse and keyboard-driven commands. The second software package is MDSplus, which is used at DIED as a central repository for analyzed data. GAPlotObj and MDSplus reduce the effort required for a collaborator to become familiar with the DIII-D analysis environment by providing uniform interfaces for data display and retrieval. Two visualization tools at DIII-D that benefit from them are ReviewPlus and EFITviewer. ReviewPlus is capable of displaying interactive 2D and 3D graphs of raw, analyzed, and simulation code data. EFITviewer is used to display results from the EFIT analysis code together with kinetic profiles and machine geometry. Both bring new possibilities for data exploration to the user, and are able to plot data from any fusion research site with an MDSplus data server

Software system safety

Science.gov (United States)

Uber, James G.

1988-01-01

Software itself is not hazardous, but since software and hardware share common interfaces there is an opportunity for software to create hazards. Further, these software systems are complex, and proven methods for the design, analysis, and measurement of software safety are not yet available. Some past software failures, future NASA software trends, software engineering methods, and tools and techniques for various software safety analyses are reviewed. Recommendations to NASA are made based on this review.

FELs, nice toys or efficient tools?

CERN Document Server

Van der Meer, Alex F G

2004-01-01

An FEL is an intrinsically interesting device and pushing its performance presents a natural challenge to a physicist. Nonetheless, the main justification for doing FEL research is of course its potential as a unique, versatile source of radiation to be employed for something useful. After 25 years of FEL research, one may wonder how efficient these tools have become. In this paper, I will reflect on this issue from the perspective of 10 years of operation of FELIX as a user facility.

CMS software deployment on OSG

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, B; Avery, P; Thomas, M; Wuerthwein, F

2008-01-01

A set of software deployment tools has been developed for the installation, verification, and removal of a CMS software release. The tools that are mainly targeted for the deployment on the OSG have the features of instant release deployment, corrective resubmission of the initial installation job, and an independent web-based deployment portal with Grid security infrastructure login mechanism. We have been deploying over 500 installations and found the tools are reliable and adaptable to cope with problems with changes in the Grid computing environment and the software releases. We present the design of the tools, statistics that we gathered during the operation of the tools, and our experience with the CMS software deployment on the OSG Grid computing environment

CMS software deployment on OSG

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, B; Avery, P [University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 (United States); Thomas, M [California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Wuerthwein, F [University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 (United States)], E-mail: bockjoo@phys.ufl.edu, E-mail: thomas@hep.caltech.edu, E-mail: avery@phys.ufl.edu, E-mail: fkw@fnal.gov

2008-07-15

A set of software deployment tools has been developed for the installation, verification, and removal of a CMS software release. The tools that are mainly targeted for the deployment on the OSG have the features of instant release deployment, corrective resubmission of the initial installation job, and an independent web-based deployment portal with Grid security infrastructure login mechanism. We have been deploying over 500 installations and found the tools are reliable and adaptable to cope with problems with changes in the Grid computing environment and the software releases. We present the design of the tools, statistics that we gathered during the operation of the tools, and our experience with the CMS software deployment on the OSG Grid computing environment.

Promoting energy efficiency investments with risk management decision tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jackson, Jerry

2010-01-01

This paper reviews current capital budgeting practices and their impact on energy efficiency investments. The prevalent use of short payback 'rule-of-thumb' requirements to screen efficiency projects for risk is shown to bias investment choices towards 'sure bet' investments bypassing many profitable efficiency investment options. A risk management investment strategy is presented as an alternative to risk avoidance practices applied with payback thresholds. The financial industry risk management tool Value-at-Risk is described and extended to provide an Energy-Budgets-at-Risk or EBaR risk management analysis to convey more accurate energy efficiency investment risk information. The paper concludes with recommendations to expand the use of Value-at-Risk-type energy efficiency analysis.

Design and validation of an improved graphical user interface with the 'Tool ball'.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kuo-Wei; Lee, Ying-Chu

2012-01-01

The purpose of this research is introduce the design of an improved graphical user interface (GUI) and verifies the operational efficiency of the proposed interface. Until now, clicking the toolbar with the mouse is the usual way to operate software functions. In our research, we designed an improved graphical user interface - a tool ball that is operated by a mouse wheel to perform software functions. Several experiments are conducted to measure the time needed to operate certain software functions with the traditional combination of "mouse click + tool button" and the proposed integration of "mouse wheel + tool ball". The results indicate that the tool ball design can accelerate the speed of operating software functions, decrease the number of icons on the screen, and enlarge the applications of the mouse wheel. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Toward a universal, automated facial measurement tool in facial reanimation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hadlock, Tessa A; Urban, Luke S

2012-01-01

To describe a highly quantitative facial function-measuring tool that yields accurate, objective measures of facial position in significantly less time than existing methods. Facial Assessment by Computer Evaluation (FACE) software was designed for facial analysis. Outputs report the static facial landmark positions and dynamic facial movements relevant in facial reanimation. Fifty individuals underwent facial movement analysis using Photoshop-based measurements and the new software; comparisons of agreement and efficiency were made. Comparisons were made between individuals with normal facial animation and patients with paralysis to gauge sensitivity to abnormal movements. Facial measurements were matched using FACE software and Photoshop-based measures at rest and during expressions. The automated assessments required significantly less time than Photoshop-based assessments.FACE measurements easily revealed differences between individuals with normal facial animation and patients with facial paralysis. FACE software produces accurate measurements of facial landmarks and facial movements and is sensitive to paralysis. Given its efficiency, it serves as a useful tool in the clinical setting for zonal facial movement analysis in comprehensive facial nerve rehabilitation programs.

DIDACTIC PRINCIPLES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS IN DEFINITION OF QUALITY OF SOFTWARE TOOLS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE IN THE GENERAL EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT OF UKRAINE

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Maryna V. Pirko

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The fundamental feature of economy of postindustrial society is the knowledge that represents the basic source of competitive advantage. In the article the circle of didactic, psychological indicators in researches of problems of achievement of a high degree of quality of education and educational services is considered and described. The attention is paid to pedagogical requirements of the given period which are a standard substantiation in orientations for quality estimation of software tools for educational purpose of the general educational environment in Ukraine. The scheme of internal model of maintenance of quality of software tools for educational purpose is considered, the aspects integrated by internal model of quality of software for educational purpose are listed. The article describes the directions of researches in the conditions of formation of the global international educational environment and uniform information space of  education system taking into account the growth of availability of educational services. It is specified the main principles in the organization of pedagogical software tools.

The electronic view box: a software tool for radiation therapy treatment verification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bosch, Walter R.; Low, Daniel A.; Gerber, Russell L.; Michalski, Jeff M.; Graham, Mary V.; Perez, Carlos A.; Harms, William B.; Purdy, James A.

1995-01-01

Purpose: We have developed a software tool for interactively verifying treatment plan implementation. The Electronic View Box (EVB) tool copies the paradigm of current practice but does so electronically. A portal image (online portal image or digitized port film) is displayed side by side with a prescription image (digitized simulator film or digitally reconstructed radiograph). The user can measure distances between features in prescription and portal images and 'write' on the display, either to approve the image or to indicate required corrective actions. The EVB tool also provides several features not available in conventional verification practice using a light box. Methods and Materials: The EVB tool has been written in ANSI C using the X window system. The tool makes use of the Virtual Machine Platform and Foundation Library specifications of the NCI-sponsored Radiation Therapy Planning Tools Collaborative Working Group for portability into an arbitrary treatment planning system that conforms to these specifications. The present EVB tool is based on an earlier Verification Image Review tool, but with a substantial redesign of the user interface. A graphical user interface prototyping system was used in iteratively refining the tool layout to allow rapid modifications of the interface in response to user comments. Results: Features of the EVB tool include 1) hierarchical selection of digital portal images based on physician name, patient name, and field identifier; 2) side-by-side presentation of prescription and portal images at equal magnification and orientation, and with independent grayscale controls; 3) 'trace' facility for outlining anatomical structures; 4) 'ruler' facility for measuring distances; 5) zoomed display of corresponding regions in both images; 6) image contrast enhancement; and 7) communication of portal image evaluation results (approval, block modification, repeat image acquisition, etc.). Conclusion: The EVB tool facilitates the rapid

The BaBar Software Architecture and Infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cosmo, Gabriele

2003-01-01

The BaBar experiment has in place since 1995 a software release system (SRT Software Release Tools) based on CVS (Concurrent Version System) which is in common for all the software developed for the experiment, online or offline, simulation or reconstruction. A software release is a snapshot of all BaBar code (online, offline, utilities, scripts, makefiles, etc.). This set of code is tested to work together, and is indexed by a release number (e.g., 6.8.2) so a user can refer to a particular release and get reproducible results. A release will involve particular versions of packages. A package generally consists of a set of code for a particular task, together with a GNU makefile, scripts and documentation. All BaBar software is maintained in AFS (Andrew File System) directories, so the code is accessible worldwide within the Collaboration. The combination SRT, CVS, AFS, has demonstrated to be a valid, powerful and efficient way of organizing the software infrastructure of a modern HEP experiment with collaborating Institutes distributed worldwide, both in a development and production phase

The D2G2 project: a new software tool for nuclear engineering design in Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rheaume, P.; Lefebvre, J.F.; Roy, R.; Koclas, J.

2004-01-01

Nowadays, high quality neutronic simulation codes are readily available. The open source software suite DRAGON/DONJON is a good example. It is free, it has proven quality and correctness over the years and is still developed and maintained at Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal. However, most simulation codes have the following weaknesses: limited usability, poor maintainability, no internal data standardization and poor portability. The D2G2 project is a software development initiative which aims to create an upper layer software tool that annihilates the weakness of classic simulation codes. This paper presents D2G2Client's and D2G2Server's principal capabilities, how they interact and the libraries they use. (author)

Building Information Model: advantages, tools and adoption efficiency

Science.gov (United States)

Abakumov, R. G.; Naumov, A. E.

2018-03-01

The paper expands definition and essence of Building Information Modeling. It describes content and effects from application of Information Modeling at different stages of a real property item. Analysis of long-term and short-term advantages is given. The authors included an analytical review of Revit software package in comparison with Autodesk with respect to: features, advantages and disadvantages, cost and pay cutoff. A prognostic calculation is given for efficiency of adoption of the Building Information Modeling technology, with examples of its successful adoption in Russia and worldwide.

Semantic integration of gene expression analysis tools and data sources using software connectors

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background The study and analysis of gene expression measurements is the primary focus of functional genomics. Once expression data is available, biologists are faced with the task of extracting (new) knowledge associated to the underlying biological phenomenon. Most often, in order to perform this task, biologists execute a number of analysis activities on the available gene expression dataset rather than a single analysis activity. The integration of heteregeneous tools and data sources to create an integrated analysis environment represents a challenging and error-prone task. Semantic integration enables the assignment of unambiguous meanings to data shared among different applications in an integrated environment, allowing the exchange of data in a semantically consistent and meaningful way. This work aims at developing an ontology-based methodology for the semantic integration of gene expression analysis tools and data sources. The proposed methodology relies on software connectors to support not only the access to heterogeneous data sources but also the definition of transformation rules on exchanged data. Results We have studied the different challenges involved in the integration of computer systems and the role software connectors play in this task. We have also studied a number of gene expression technologies, analysis tools and related ontologies in order to devise basic integration scenarios and propose a reference ontology for the gene expression domain. Then, we have defined a number of activities and associated guidelines to prescribe how the development of connectors should be carried out. Finally, we have applied the proposed methodology in the construction of three different integration scenarios involving the use of different tools for the analysis of different types of gene expression data. Conclusions The proposed methodology facilitates the development of connectors capable of semantically integrating different gene expression analysis tools

The software improvement process - tools and rules to encourage quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sigerud, K.; Baggiolini, V.

2012-01-01

The Applications section of the CERN accelerator controls group has decided to apply a systematic approach to quality assurance (QA), the 'Software Improvement Process' - SIP. This process focuses on three areas: the development process itself, suitable QA tools, and how to practically encourage developers to do QA. For each stage of the development process we have agreed on the recommended activities and deliverables, and identified tools to automate and support the task. For example we do more code reviews. As peer reviews are resource intensive, we only do them for complex parts of a product. As a complement, we are using static code checking tools, like FindBugs and Checkstyle. We also encourage unit testing and have agreed on a minimum level of test coverage recommended for all products, measured using Clover. Each of these tools is well integrated with our IDE (Eclipse) and give instant feedback to the developer about the quality of their code. The major challenges of SIP have been to 1) agree on common standards and configurations, for example common code formatting and Javadoc documentation guidelines, and 2) how to encourage the developers to do QA. To address the second point, we have successfully implemented 'SIP days', i.e. one day dedicated to QA work to which the whole group of developers participates, and 'Top/Flop' lists, clearly indicating the best and worst products with regards to SIP guidelines and standards, for example test coverage. This paper presents the SIP initiative in more detail, summarizing our experience since two years and our future plans. (authors)

UBIQUITOUS, FREE, AND EFFICIENT ONLINE COLLABORATION TOOLS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jace HARGIS

2008-10-01

Full Text Available This article provides an overview of free, online tools that make collaboration effective, efficient, and engaging. Each tool is available world-wide wherever there is access to the internet. These tools help create a more collaborative environment because they allow for voice, video, text, simultaneous editing, and immediate feedback. The tools presented are easy to use, user friendly, and have online support available if needed. Methods for using the tools are suggested, and examples of how they have been used by the authors are discussed. Professional presentations, instructional activities, meetings, and preparing manuscripts or other collaborative documents can all be developed in collaborative online meetings using Skype, Google tools including Talk, Chat, Calendar, Docs, and Notebooks, and Second Life. These may also be used to enhance education in distance learning or on campus classes. The features, functionality, and intuitive ease of use promote collaborative efforts, increasing the effective and efficient use of time while decreasing costs. Hyperlinks are provided for tools so users can determine technology specifications, download necessary files, learn more about their capabilities, and locate help or support information.

The UP3-UP2 800 reprocessing plants control systems. Use of tools for the diagnosis, the track of control softwares and the management of technical data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chabert, J.; Michon, J.C.

1995-01-01

After a rapid presentation of control systems architectures of the La Hague COGEMA reprocessing plants, details are given about the tools used to master the control and instrumentation softwares and technical data. The paper focusses more particularly on the CML (Software Maintenance Center) tool which manages the software versions installed on the driving system, on the SYDDEX tool devoted to the management of the control and instrumentation associated data and documents, and on the SAD tool used for diagnosis assistance. (J.S.). 5 figs

Sustaining an Online, Shared Community Resource for Models, Robust Open source Software Tools and Data for Volcanology - the Vhub Experience

Science.gov (United States)

Patra, A. K.; Valentine, G. A.; Bursik, M. I.; Connor, C.; Connor, L.; Jones, M.; Simakov, N.; Aghakhani, H.; Jones-Ivey, R.; Kosar, T.; Zhang, B.

2015-12-01

Over the last 5 years we have created a community collaboratory Vhub.org [Palma et al, J. App. Volc. 3:2 doi:10.1186/2191-5040-3-2] as a place to find volcanology-related resources, and a venue for users to disseminate tools, teaching resources, data, and an online platform to support collaborative efforts. As the community (current active users > 6000 from an estimated community of comparable size) embeds the tools in the collaboratory into educational and research workflows it became imperative to: a) redesign tools into robust, open source reusable software for online and offline usage/enhancement; b) share large datasets with remote collaborators and other users seamlessly with security; c) support complex workflows for uncertainty analysis, validation and verification and data assimilation with large data. The focus on tool development/redevelopment has been twofold - firstly to use best practices in software engineering and new hardware like multi-core and graphic processing units. Secondly we wish to enhance capabilities to support inverse modeling, uncertainty quantification using large ensembles and design of experiments, calibration, validation. Among software engineering practices we practice are open source facilitating community contributions, modularity and reusability. Our initial targets are four popular tools on Vhub - TITAN2D, TEPHRA2, PUFF and LAVA. Use of tools like these requires many observation driven data sets e.g. digital elevation models of topography, satellite imagery, field observations on deposits etc. These data are often maintained in private repositories that are privately shared by "sneaker-net". As a partial solution to this we tested mechanisms using irods software for online sharing of private data with public metadata and access limits. Finally, we adapted use of workflow engines (e.g. Pegasus) to support the complex data and computing workflows needed for usage like uncertainty quantification for hazard analysis using physical

Detecting variants with Metabolic Design, a new software tool to design probes for explorative functional DNA microarray development

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Gravelat Fabrice

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Microorganisms display vast diversity, and each one has its own set of genes, cell components and metabolic reactions. To assess their huge unexploited metabolic potential in different ecosystems, we need high throughput tools, such as functional microarrays, that allow the simultaneous analysis of thousands of genes. However, most classical functional microarrays use specific probes that monitor only known sequences, and so fail to cover the full microbial gene diversity present in complex environments. We have thus developed an algorithm, implemented in the user-friendly program Metabolic Design, to design efficient explorative probes. Results First we have validated our approach by studying eight enzymes involved in the degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from the model strain Sphingomonas paucimobilis sp. EPA505 using a designed microarray of 8,048 probes. As expected, microarray assays identified the targeted set of genes induced during biodegradation kinetics experiments with various pollutants. We have then confirmed the identity of these new genes by sequencing, and corroborated the quantitative discrimination of our microarray by quantitative real-time PCR. Finally, we have assessed metabolic capacities of microbial communities in soil contaminated with aromatic hydrocarbons. Results show that our probe design (sensitivity and explorative quality can be used to study a complex environment efficiently. Conclusions We successfully use our microarray to detect gene expression encoding enzymes involved in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degradation for the model strain. In addition, DNA microarray experiments performed on soil polluted by organic pollutants without prior sequence assumptions demonstrate high specificity and sensitivity for gene detection. Metabolic Design is thus a powerful, efficient tool that can be used to design explorative probes and monitor metabolic pathways in complex environments

CRISPRpred: A flexible and efficient tool for sgRNAs on-target activity prediction in CRISPR/Cas9 systems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md Khaledur Rahman

Full Text Available The CRISPR/Cas9-sgRNA system has recently become a popular tool for genome editing and a very hot topic in the field of medical research. In this system, Cas9 protein is directed to a desired location for gene engineering and cleaves target DNA sequence which is complementary to a 20-nucleotide guide sequence found within the sgRNA. A lot of experimental efforts, ranging from in vivo selection to in silico modeling, have been made for efficient designing of sgRNAs in CRISPR/Cas9 system. In this article, we present a novel tool, called CRISPRpred, for efficient in silico prediction of sgRNAs on-target activity which is based on the applications of Support Vector Machine (SVM model. To conduct experiments, we have used a benchmark dataset of 17 genes and 5310 guide sequences where there are only 20% true values. CRISPRpred achieves Area Under Receiver Operating Characteristics Curve (AUROC-Curve, Area Under Precision Recall Curve (AUPR-Curve and maximum Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC as 0.85, 0.56 and 0.48, respectively. Our tool shows approximately 5% improvement in AUPR-Curve and after analyzing all evaluation metrics, we find that CRISPRpred is better than the current state-of-the-art. CRISPRpred is enough flexible to extract relevant features and use them in a learning algorithm. The source code of our entire software with relevant dataset can be found in the following link: https://github.com/khaled-buet/CRISPRpred.

SoftLab: A Soft-Computing Software for Experimental Research with Commercialization Aspects

Science.gov (United States)

Akbarzadeh-T, M.-R.; Shaikh, T. S.; Ren, J.; Hubbell, Rob; Kumbla, K. K.; Jamshidi, M

1998-01-01

SoftLab is a software environment for research and development in intelligent modeling/control using soft-computing paradigms such as fuzzy logic, neural networks, genetic algorithms, and genetic programs. SoftLab addresses the inadequacies of the existing soft-computing software by supporting comprehensive multidisciplinary functionalities from management tools to engineering systems. Furthermore, the built-in features help the user process/analyze information more efficiently by a friendly yet powerful interface, and will allow the user to specify user-specific processing modules, hence adding to the standard configuration of the software environment.

An efficient annotation and gene-expression derivation tool for Illumina Solexa datasets.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosseini, Parsa; Tremblay, Arianne; Matthews, Benjamin F; Alkharouf, Nadim W

2010-07-02

The data produced by an Illumina flow cell with all eight lanes occupied, produces well over a terabyte worth of images with gigabytes of reads following sequence alignment. The ability to translate such reads into meaningful annotation is therefore of great concern and importance. Very easily, one can get flooded with such a great volume of textual, unannotated data irrespective of read quality or size. CASAVA, a optional analysis tool for Illumina sequencing experiments, enables the ability to understand INDEL detection, SNP information, and allele calling. To not only extract from such analysis, a measure of gene expression in the form of tag-counts, but furthermore to annotate such reads is therefore of significant value. We developed TASE (Tag counting and Analysis of Solexa Experiments), a rapid tag-counting and annotation software tool specifically designed for Illumina CASAVA sequencing datasets. Developed in Java and deployed using jTDS JDBC driver and a SQL Server backend, TASE provides an extremely fast means of calculating gene expression through tag-counts while annotating sequenced reads with the gene's presumed function, from any given CASAVA-build. Such a build is generated for both DNA and RNA sequencing. Analysis is broken into two distinct components: DNA sequence or read concatenation, followed by tag-counting and annotation. The end result produces output containing the homology-based functional annotation and respective gene expression measure signifying how many times sequenced reads were found within the genomic ranges of functional annotations. TASE is a powerful tool to facilitate the process of annotating a given Illumina Solexa sequencing dataset. Our results indicate that both homology-based annotation and tag-count analysis are achieved in very efficient times, providing researchers to delve deep in a given CASAVA-build and maximize information extraction from a sequencing dataset. TASE is specially designed to translate sequence data

APPLICATION OF THE SPECTRUM ANALYSIS WITH USING BERG METHOD TO DEVELOPED SPECIAL SOFTWARE TOOLS FOR OPTICAL VIBRATION DIAGNOSTICS SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. O. Zaitsev

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of this paper is development and experimental verification special software of spectral analysis. Spectral analysis use of controlled vibrations objects. Spectral analysis of vibration based on use maximum-entropy autoregressive method of spectral analysis by the Berg algorithm. For measured signals use preliminary analysis based on regression analysis. This analysis of the signal enables to eliminate uninformative parameters such as – the noise and the trend. For preliminary analysis developed special software tools. Non-contact measurement of mechanical vibrations parameters rotating diffusely-reflecting surfaces used in circumstances where the use of contact sensors difficult or impossible for a number of reasons, including lack of access to the object, the small size of the controlled area controlled portion has a high temperature or is affected by strong electromagnetic fields. For control use offered laser measuring system. This measuring system overcomes the shortcomings interference or Doppler optical measuring systems. Such as measure the large amplitude and inharmonious vibration. On the basis of the proposed methods developed special software tools for use measuring laser system. LabVIEW using for developed special software. Experimental research of the proposed method of vibration signals processing is checked in the analysis of the diagnostic information obtained by measuring the vibration system grinding diamond wheel cold solid tungsten-containing alloy TK8. A result of work special software tools was complex spectrum obtained «purified» from non-informative parameters. Spectrum of the signal corresponding to the vibration process observed object.