This paper presents experiences and lessons learned detailing software testing for a technology refresh project that took place over a period of one year. The paper describes the continuous testing performed while the team ported a web portal from one environment to another, which will probably affect more websites and web portals as time goes on. The original portlet-based application was constructed four years ago and has been experiencing problems during peak demand times. The overall goal of this technology refresh project is to achieve stability of the portal-based on a more robust architecture.
This paper summarizes test plans and results for iterative functional, automated regression, and continuous performance testing. The team designed the system for better performance, monitored test results from the early stage of the lifecycle, and unveiled potential issues using continuous integration and testing.
Based on recent advances in technology, many robots are developed and they are used in a hazardous environment such as military operation, fire, and building collapse and so on. Among them, reconnaissance robot should be able to perform various missions which people can not do. So it needs the capability of moving with hiding its position on rough terrain, overcoming obstacles, and guaranteeing its efficiency of reconnaissance. For this reason there are in progress of researching biomimetic robots. Therefore in this paper we proposed robot mechanism, two modules based on the screw and wheel mechanism which mimic snake, and the spiral climbing method was considered for overcoming the situation when moving on the trees.
Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are at an increased risk of developing thromboses with antiphospholipid anti-bodies (aPL). The presence of aPL is related to an increased risk of thrombotic events. However, thromboembolic events can occur in SLE patients without aPL, and pulmonary emboli are rarely reported manifestations of SLE without aPL. Here, we report on a case of massive pulmonary embolism in a 58-year-old woman with aPL-negative SLE. She presented with chest pain and dyspnea, and chest computed tomography (CT) and lung perfusion ventilation scans showed pulmonary thromboembolism. She was administered thrombolytic agents, heparin, and warfarin. Two months later, no remarkable residual thromboembolism was observed on chest CT.
In this paper, objectively quantified consonance of complex sound is proposed as a new psychoacoustical parameter. Proposing algorithm quantifies consonance of complex sound after applying psycho acoustical models which are parts of human perception such as masking effect, equal loudness contour, and critical band. To verify proposing algorithm, experiments with 10 car horn signals which have different complex sound were performed. The experiments show cross correlation of 0.95 between objectively quantified consonance by proposing algorithm and subjectively assessed consonance by listening tests. Considering the fact that there are few psychoacoustical parameter except Zwicker parameter, proposing algorithm will help to quantify psychoacoustical effect of complex sounds objectively.
Several reports have described the anti-cancer activity of arctigenin, a lignan extracted from Arctium lappa L. Here, we investigated the effect of arctigenin (ATG) on doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cell death using MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. The results showed that DOX-induced cell death was enhanced by ATG/DOX co-treatment in a concentration-dependent manner and that this was associated with increased DOX uptake and the suppression of multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1) gene expression in MDA-MB-231 cells. ATG enhanced DOX-induced DNA damage and decreased the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and the expressions of RAD51 and survivin. Cell death caused by ATG/DOX co-treatment was mediated by the nuclear translocation of apoptosis inducing factor (AIF), reductions in cellular and mitochondrial Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, and increases in mitochondrial BAX levels. However, caspase-3 and -7 did not participate in DOX/ATG-induced cell death. We also found that DOX/ATG-induced cell death was linked with activation of the p38 signaling pathway and suppressions of the phosphorylations and expressions of Akt and c-Jun N-terminal kinase. Taken together, these results show that ATG enhances the cytotoxic activity of DOX in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells by inducing prolonged p21 expression and p38-mediated AIF-dependent cell death. In conclusion, our findings suggest that ATG might alleviate the side effects and improve the therapeutic efficacy of DOX.