Developing a simulator application to test the billing platform in telecom industry

Billing Mediation Platform (BMP) in telecommunication industry is used to process real-time streams of Call Detail Records (CDRs) which can be a massive number a day. The generated records by BMP can be deployed for billing purposes, fraud detection, spam filtering, traffic analysis, and churn forecast. Several of these applications are distinguished by real-time processing requiring low-latency analysis of CDRs. Testing of such a platform carries diverse aspects like stress testing of analytics for scalability and what-if scenarios which require generating of CDRs with realistic volumetric and appropriate properties. The approach of this project is to build user friendly and flexible application which assists the development department to test their billing solution occasionally. These generators projects have been around for a while the only difference are the potions they cover and the purpose they will be used for. This paper proposes to use a simulator application to test the BMPs with simulating CDRs. The Simulated CDRs are modifiable based on the user requirements and represent real world data.

Maintenance test section survey : data collection and analysis

A Maintenance Test Section Survey (MTSS) was conducted as part of a Peer State Review of the Texas Maintenance Program conducted October 5–7, 2010. The purpose of the MTSS was to conduct a field review of 34 highway test sections and obtain participants’ opinions about pavement, roadside, and maintenance conditions. The goal was to cross reference or benchmark TxDOT’s maintenance practices based on practices used by selected peer states. Representatives from six peer states (California, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, and Washington) were invited to Austin to attend a 3-day Peer State Review of TxDOT Maintenance Practices Workshop and to participate in a field survey of a number of pre-selected one-mile roadway sections. It should be emphasized that the objective of the survey was not to evaluate and grade or score TxDOT’s road network but rather to determine whether the selected roadway sections met acceptable standards of service as perceived by Directors of Maintenance or senior maintenance managers from the peer states...

Learning to think spatially : what do students 'see' in numeracy test items?

Learning to think spatially in mathematics involves developing proficiency with graphics. This paper reports on 2 investigations of spatial thinking and graphics. The first investigation explored the importance of graphics as 1 of 3 communication systems (i.e. text, symbols, graphics) used to provide information in numeracy test items. The results showed that graphics were embedded in at least 50 % of test items across 3 year levels. The second investigation examined 11 – 12-year-olds’ performance on 2 mathematical tasks which required substantial interpretation of graphics and spatial thinking. The outcomes revealed that many students lacked proficiency in the basic spatial skills of visual memory and spatial perception and the more advanced skills of spatial orientation and spatial visualisation. This paper concludes with a reaffirmation of the importance of spatial thinking in mathematics and proposes ways to capitalize on graphics in learning to think spatially.

Evaluation of screening tests for predicting older driver performance and safety assessed by an on-road test

A number of tests and test batteries are available for the prediction of older driver safety, but many of these have not been validated against standardized driving outcome measures. The aim of this study was to evaluate a series of previously described screening tests in terms of their ability to predict the potential for safe and unsafe driving. Participants included 79 community-dwelling older drivers (M=72.16 years, SD=5.46; range 65-88 years; 57 males and 22 females) who completed a previously validated multi-disciplinary driving assessment, a hazard perception test, a hazard change detection test and a battery of vision and cognitive tests. Participants also completed a standardized on-road driving assessment. The multi-disciplinary test battery had the highest predictive ability with a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 73%, followed by the hazard perception test which demonstrated a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 61%. These findings suggest that a relatively simple and practical battery of tests from a range of domains has the capacity to predict safe and unsafe driving in older adults.

Optimisation of Banana streak virus (BSV) diagnostic assays

Bananas are one of the world�fs most important crops, serving as a staple food and an important source of income for millions of people in the subtropics. Pests and diseases are a major constraint to banana production. To prevent the spread of pests and disease, farmers are encouraged to use disease�] and insect�]free planting material obtained by micropropagation. This option, however, does not always exclude viruses and concern remains on the quality of planting material. Therefore, there is a demand for effective and reliable virus indexing procedures for tissue culture (TC) material. Reliable diagnostic tests are currently available for all of the economically important viruses of bananas with the exception of Banana streak viruses (BSV, Caulimoviridae, Badnavirus). Development of a reliable diagnostic test for BSV is complicated by the significant serological and genetic variation reported for BSV isolates, and the presence of endogenous BSV (eBSV). Current PCR�] and serological�]based diagnostic methods for BSV may not detect all species of BSV, and PCR�]based methods may give false positives because of the presence of eBSV. Rolling circle amplification (RCA) has been reported as a technique to detect BSV which can also discriminate between episomal and endogenous BSV sequences. However, the method is too expensive for large scale screening of samples in developing countries, and little information is available regarding its sensitivity. Therefore the development of reliable PCR�]based assays is still considered the most appropriate option for large scale screening of banana plants for BSV. This MSc project aimed to refine and optimise the protocols for BSV detection, with a particular focus on developing reliable PCR�]based diagnostics Initially, the appropriateness and reliability of PCR and RCA as diagnostic tests for BSV detection were assessed by testing 45 field samples of banana collected from nine districts in the Eastern region of Uganda in February 2010. This research was also aimed at investigating the diversity of BSV in eastern Uganda, identifying the BSV species present and characterising any new BSV species. Out of the 45 samples tested, 38 and 40 samples were considered positive by PCR and RCA, respectively. Six different species of BSV, namely Banana streak IM virus (BSIMV), Banana streak MY virus (BSMYV), Banana streak OL virus (BSOLV), Banana streak UA virus (BSUAV), Banana streak UL virus (BSULV), Banana streak UM virus (BSUMV), were detected by PCR and confirmed by RCA and sequencing. No new species were detected, but this was the first report of BSMYV in Uganda. Although RCA was demonstrated to be suitable for broad�]range detection of BSV, it proved time�]consuming and laborious for identification in field samples. Due to the disadvantages associated with RCA, attempts were made to develop a reliable PCR�]based assay for the specific detection of episomal BSOLV, Banana streak GF virus (BSGFV), BSMYV and BSIMV. For BSOLV and BSGFV, the integrated sequences exist in rearranged, repeated and partially inverted portions at their site of integration. Therefore, for these two viruses, primers sets were designed by mapping previously published sequences of their endogenous counterparts onto published sequences of the episomal genomes. For BSOLV, two primer sets were designed while, for BSGFV, a single primer set was designed. The episomalspecificity of these primer sets was assessed by testing 106 plant samples collected during surveys in Kenya and Uganda, and 33 leaf samples from a wide range of banana cultivars maintained in TC at the Maroochy Research Station of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI), Queensland. All of these samples had previously been tested for episomal BSV by RCA and for both BSOLV and BSGFV by PCR using published primer sets. The outcome from these analyses was that the newly designed primer sets for BSOLV and BSGFV were able to distinguish between episomal BSV and eBSV in most cultivars with some B�]genome component. In some samples, however, amplification was observed using the putative episomal�]specific primer sets where episomal BSV was not identified using RCA. This may reflect a difference in the sensitivity of PCR compared to RCA, or possibly the presence of an eBSV sequence of different conformation. Since the sequences of the respective eBSV for BSMYV and BSIMV in the M. balbisiana genome are not available, a series of random primer combinations were tested in an attempt to find potential episomal�]specific primer sets for BSMYV and BSIMV. Of an initial 20 primer combinations screened for BSMYV detection on a small number of control samples, 11 primers sets appeared to be episomal�]specific. However, subsequent testing of two of these primer combinations on a larger number of control samples resulted in some inconsistent results which will require further investigation. Testing of the 25 primer combinations for episomal�]specific detection of BSIMV on a number of control samples showed that none were able to discriminate between episomal and endogenous BSIMV. The final component of this research project was the development of an infectious clone of a BSV endemic in Australia, namely BSMYV. This was considered important to enable the generation of large amounts of diseased plant material needed for further research. A terminally redundant fragment (.1.3 �~ BSMYV genome) was cloned and transformed into Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain AGL1, and used to inoculate 12 healthy banana plants of the cultivars Cavendish (Williams) by three different methods. At 12 weeks post�]inoculation, (i) four of the five banana plants inoculated by corm injection showed characteristic BSV symptoms while the remaining plant was wilting/dying, (ii) three of the five banana plants inoculated by needle�]pricking of the stem showed BSV symptoms, one plant was symptomless while the remaining had died and (iii) both banana plants inoculated by leaf infiltration were symptomless. When banana leaf samples were tested for BSMYV by PCR and RCA, BSMYV was confirmed in all banana plants showing symptoms including those were wilting and/or dying. The results from this research have provided several avenues for further research. By completely sequencing all variants of eBSOLV and eBSGFV and fully sequencing the eBSIMV and eBSMYV regions, episomal BSV�]specific primer sets for all eBSVs could potentially be designed that could avoid all integrants of that particular BSV species. Furthermore, the development of an infectious BSV clone will enable large numbers of BSVinfected plants to be generated for the further testing of the sensitivity of RCA compared to other more established assays such as PCR. The development of infectious clones also opens the possibility for virus induced gene silencing studies in banana.

Human papillomavirus prevalence, viral load and pre-cancerous lesions of the cervix in women initiating highly active antiretroviral therapy in South Africa : a cross-sectional study

Background Cervical cancer and infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are both important public health problems in South Africa (SA). The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs), high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV), HPV viral load and HPV genotypes in HIV positive women initiating anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted at an anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment clinic in Cape Town, SA in 2007. Cervical specimens were taken for cytological analysis and HPV testing. The Digene Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) test was used to detect HR-HPV. Relative light units (RLU) were used as a measure of HPV viral load. HPV types were determined using the Roche Linear Array HPV Genotyping test. Crude associations with abnormal cytology were tested and multiple logistic regression was used to determine independent risk factors for abnormal cytology. Results The median age of the 109 participants was 31 years, the median CD4 count was 125/mm3, 66.3% had an abnormal Pap smear, the HR-HPV prevalence was 78.9% (Digene), the median HPV viral load was 181.1 RLU (HC2 positive samples only) and 78.4% had multiple genotypes. Among women with abnormal smears the most prevalent HR-HPV types were HPV types 16, 58 and 51, all with a prevalence of 28.5%. On univariate analysis HR-HPV, multiple HPV types and HPV viral load were significantly associated with the presence of low and high-grade SILs (LSIL/HSIL). The multivariate logistic regression showed that HPV viral load was associated with an increased odds of LSIL/HSIL, odds ratio of 10.7 (95% CI 2.0 – 57.7) for those that were HC2 positive and had a viral load of ≤ 181.1 RLU (the median HPV viral load), and 33.8 (95% CI 6.4 – 178.9) for those that were HC2 positive with a HPV viral load > 181.1 RLU. Conclusion Women initiating ARVs have a high prevalence of abnormal Pap smears and HR-HPV. Our results underscore the need for locally relevant, rigorous screening protocols for the increasing numbers of women accessing ARV therapy so that the benefits of ARVs are not partially offset by an excess risk in cervical cancer.

BabelFuse data fusion unit with precision wireless clock synchronisation

A significant issue encountered when fusing data received from multiple sensors is the accuracy of the timestamp associated with each piece of data. This is particularly important in applications such as Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) where vehicle velocity forms an important part of the mapping algorithms; on fastmoving vehicles, even millisecond inconsistencies in data timestamping can produce errors which need to be compensated for. The timestamping problem is compounded in a robot swarm environment due to the use of non-deterministic readily-available hardware (such as 802.11-based wireless) and inaccurate clock synchronisation protocols (such as Network Time Protocol (NTP)). As a result, the synchronisation of the clocks between robots can be out by tens-to-hundreds of milliseconds making correlation of data difficult and preventing the possibility of the units performing synchronised actions such as triggering cameras or intricate swarm manoeuvres. In this thesis, a complete data fusion unit is designed, implemented and tested. The unit, named BabelFuse, is able to accept sensor data from a number of low-speed communication buses (such as RS232, RS485 and CAN Bus) and also timestamp events that occur on General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) pins referencing a submillisecondaccurate wirelessly-distributed "global" clock signal. In addition to its timestamping capabilities, it can also be used to trigger an attached camera at a predefined start time and frame rate. This functionality enables the creation of a wirelessly-synchronised distributed image acquisition system over a large geographic area; a real world application for this functionality is the creation of a platform to facilitate wirelessly-distributed 3D stereoscopic vision. A ‘best-practice’ design methodology is adopted within the project to ensure the final system operates according to its requirements. Initially, requirements are generated from which a high-level architecture is distilled. This architecture is then converted into a hardware specification and low-level design, which is then manufactured. The manufactured hardware is then verified to ensure it operates as designed and firmware and Linux Operating System (OS) drivers are written to provide the features and connectivity required of the system. Finally, integration testing is performed to ensure the unit functions as per its requirements. The BabelFuse System comprises of a single Grand Master unit which is responsible for maintaining the absolute value of the "global" clock. Slave nodes then determine their local clock o.set from that of the Grand Master via synchronisation events which occur multiple times per-second. The mechanism used for synchronising the clocks between the boards wirelessly makes use of specific hardware and a firmware protocol based on elements of the IEEE-1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP). With the key requirement of the system being submillisecond-accurate clock synchronisation (as a basis for timestamping and camera triggering), automated testing is carried out to monitor the o.sets between each Slave and the Grand Master over time. A common strobe pulse is also sent to each unit for timestamping; the correlation between the timestamps of the di.erent units is used to validate the clock o.set results. Analysis of the automated test results show that the BabelFuse units are almost threemagnitudes more accurate than their requirement; clocks of the Slave and Grand Master units do not di.er by more than three microseconds over a running time of six hours and the mean clock o.set of Slaves to the Grand Master is less-than one microsecond. The common strobe pulse used to verify the clock o.set data yields a positive result with a maximum variation between units of less-than two microseconds and a mean value of less-than one microsecond. The camera triggering functionality is verified by connecting the trigger pulse output of each board to a four-channel digital oscilloscope and setting each unit to output a 100Hz periodic pulse with a common start time. The resulting waveform shows a maximum variation between the rising-edges of the pulses of approximately 39¥ìs, well below its target of 1ms.

How to design extended finite state machine test models in Java

This chapter is a tutorial that teaches you how to design extended finite state machine (EFSM) test models for a system that you want to test. EFSM models are more powerful and expressive than simple finite state machine (FSM) models, and are one of the most commonly used styles of models for model-based testing, especially for embedded systems. There are many languages and notations in use for writing EFSM models, but in this tutorial we write our EFSM models in the familiar Java programming language. To generate tests from these EFSM models we use ModelJUnit, which is an open-source tool that supports several stochastic test generation algorithms, and we also show how to write your own model-based testing tool. We show how EFSM models can be used for unit testing and system testing of embedded systems, and for offline testing as well as online testing.

The emerging framework of cross-border insolvency in and around Australia : Saad Investments, Japan Airlines and Lehman Brothers – part one

Recent decades have witnessed a global acceleration of legislative and private sector initiatives to deal with Cross-Border insolvency. Legislative institutions include the various national implementations of the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (Model Law) published by the United Nations Commission on International Trade (UNCITRAL).3 Private mechanisms include Cross-Border protocols developed and utilised by insolvency professionals and their advisers (often with the imprimatur of the judiciary), on both general and ad hoc bases. The Asia Pacific region has not escaped the effect of those developments, and the economic turmoil of the past few years has provided an early test for some of the emerging initiatives in that region. This two-part article explores the operation of those institutions through the medium of three recent cases.

The emerging framework of cross-border insolvency in and around Australia : Saad Investments, Japan Airlines and Lehman Brothers – Part Two

Recent decades have witnessed a global acceleration of legislative and private sector initiatives to deal with Cross-Border insolvency. Legislative institutions include the various national implementations of the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (Model Law) published by the United Nations Commission on International Trade (UNCITRAL).3 Private mechanisms include Cross-Border protocols developed and utilised by insolvency professionals and their advisers (often with the imprimatur of the judiciary), on both general and ad hoc bases. The Asia Pacific region has not escaped the effect of those developments, and the economic turmoil of the past few years has provided an early test for some of the emerging initiatives in that region. This two-part article explores the operation of those institutions through the medium of three recent cases.

A Reliability test system for educational purposes-basic data

The IEEE Subcommittee on the Application of Probability Methods (APM) published the IEEE Reliability Test System (RTS) [1] in 1979. This system provides a consistent and generally acceptable set of data that can be used both in generation capacity and in composite system reliability evaluation [2,3]. The test system provides a basis for the comparison of results obtained by different people using different methods. Prior to its publication, there was no general agreement on either the system or the data that should be used to demonstrate or test various techniques developed to conduct reliability studies. Development of reliability assessment techniques and programs are very dependent on the intent behind the development as the experience of one power utility with their system may be quite different from that of another utility. The development and the utilization of a reliability program are, therefore, greatly influenced by the experience of a utlity and the intent of the system manager, planner and designer conducting the reliability studies. The IEEE-RTS has proved to be extremely valuable in highlighting and comparing the capabilities (or incapabilities) of programs used in reliability studies, the differences in the perception of various power utilities and the differences in the solution techniques. The IEEE-RTS contains a reasonably large power network which can be difficult to use for initial studies in an educational environment.

A Reliability test system for educational purposes-basic data

The IEEE Reliability Test System (RTS) developed by the Application of Probability Method Subcommittee has been used to compare and test a wide range of generating capacity and composite system evaluation techniques and subsequent digital computer programs. A basic reliability test system is presented which has evolved from the reliability education and research programs conducted by the Power System Research Group at the University of Saskatchewan. The basic system data necessary for adequacy evaluation at the generation and composite generation and transmission system levels are presented together with the fundamental data required to conduct reliability-cost/reliability-worth evaluation

A Reliability test system for educational purposes-basic results

A set of basic reliability indices at the generation and composite generation and transmission levels for a small reliability test system are presented. The test system and the results presented have evolved from reliability research and teaching programs. The indices presented are for fundamental reliability applications which should be covered in a power system reliability teaching program. The RBTS test system and the basic indices provide a valuable reference for faculty and students engaged in reliability teaching and research

Climate of fear in organisational settings : construct definition, measurement and a test of theory

This paper reports a study that explored a new construct: ‘climate of fear’. We hypothesised that climate of fear would vary across work sites within organisations, but not across organisations. This is in contrast a to measures of organisational culture, which were expected to vary both within and across organisations. To test our hypotheses, we developed a new 13-item measure of perceived fear in organisations and tested it in 20 sites across two organisations (N ≡ 209). Culture variables measured were innovative leadership culture, and communication culture. Results were that climate of fear did vary across sites in both organisations, while differences across organisations were not significant, as we anticipated. Organisational culture, however, varied between the organisations, and within one of the organisations. The climate of fear scale exhibited acceptable psychometric properties

Methodological challenges in conducting a systematic review of community wide interventions to increase physical activity

Introduction: Evaluating the effectiveness of interventions designed to increase the physical activity in communities is often a difficult and complex task, requiring considerable expertise and investment, and often constrained by methodological limitations. These limitations, in turn, create additional challenges when these studies are used in systematic reviews as they hinder the confidence, precision and interpretation of results. The objective of this paper is to summarise the methodological challenges posed in conducting a systematic review of community-wide physical activity interventions to help inform those conducting future primary research and systematic reviews. Methods: We conducted a Cochrane systematic review of community-wide interventions to increase physical activity. We assessed the methodological quality of the included studies. We will investigate these in greater detail, particularly in relation to the potential impact on measures of effect, confidence in results, generalizability of results and general interpretation. Results: The systematic review was conducted and has been published in the Cochrane Library. A logic model was helpful in defining and interpreting the studies. Many studies of unsuitable study design were excluded; however several important methodological limitations of the primary studies evaluating community-wide physical activity interventions emerged. These included: - the failure to use validated tools to measure physical activity; - issues associated with pre and post test designs; - inadequate sampling of populations; - poor control groups; and - intervention and measurement protocols of inadequate duration. Although it is challenging to undertake rigorous evaluations of complex interventions, these issues result in significant uncertainty over the effectiveness of these interventions, and the possible factors required for a community-wide intervention to be successful. In particular, the combination of several of these limitations (e.g. un-validated tools, inadequate sampling, and short duration) is that studies may lack the sensitivity to detect any meaningful change. Multiple publications of findings for the same study also made interpretation difficult; however, interventions with parallel qualitative publications were helpful. Discussion: Evaluating community wide interventions to increase physical activity in a rigorous way is incredibly challenging. These findings reflect these challenges but have important ramifications for researchers conducting primary studies to determine the efficacy of such interventions, as well as for researchers conducting systematic reviews. This new review shows that the inadequacies of design and evaluation are continuing. It is hoped that the adoption of such suggestions may aid in the development of systematic reviews, but more importantly, in enabling translation of such findings into policy and practice.