Test Team Research Articles

Multisite investigation of strategies for the clinical implementation of pre-emptive pharmacogenetic testing

Purpose:The increased availability of clinical pharmacogenetic (PGx) guidelines and decreasing costs for genetic testing have slowly led to increased utilization of PGx testing in clinical practice. Preemptive PGx testing, where testing is performed in advance of drug prescribing, is one means to ensure results are available at the time of prescribing decisions. However, the most efficient and effective methods to clinically implement this strategy remain unclear.Methods:In this report, we compare and contrast implementation strategies for preemptive PGx testing by 15 early-adopter institutions. We surveyed these groups, collecting data on testing approaches, team composition, and workflow dynamics, in addition to estimated third-party reimbursement rates.Results:We found that while preemptive PGx testing models varied across sites, institutions shared several commonalities, including methods to identify patients eligible for testing, involvement of a precision medicine clinical team in program leadership, and the implementation of pharmacogenes with Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium guidelines available. Lastly, while reimbursement rate data were difficult to obtain, the data available suggested that reimbursement rates for preemptive PGx testing remain low.Conclusion:These findings should inform the establishment of future implementation efforts at institutions considering a preemptive PGx testing program.

Early engagement with the wider patient community in early‐phase clinical trial design: Insights from the CareRing caregiver community in designing the Brainshuttle AD trial

AbstractBackgroundCaregivers and families of people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) play a crucial role in the decision to participate in a clinical trial, and in supporting participants during the trial process. Early engagement with the wider patient community could enable the design of trials that are less burdensome for participants and caregivers. The CareRing initiative gathered caregiver insights on: participant/caregiver motivations for involvement in early phase clinical trials where no treatment benefit is expected; the role caregivers expect to play when loved ones participate in a trial; and holistic support that could help minimize the impact of trial participation on daily life.MethodSix Roche employees from different geographical regions with varying backgrounds and roles, who are caregivers for a person with AD, participated in two 60‐minute telephone calls. The calls included presentations of the Roche brain shuttle technology and draft protocol for the Phase IB/IIA Brainshuttle AD trial evaluating RO7126209 in prodromal or mild‐to‐moderate AD (NCT04639050), and allowed caregivers to provide input on the protocol and holistic support that could alleviate the burden of participation. Key insights/recommendations from caregivers were used to develop guidance on trial design and supporting materials.ResultFeedback suggested participants are motivated by being able to help others (including their families) avoid the suffering they experience, decreasing their sense of isolation, and access to state‐of‐the‐art care, testing, and neurology teams. Caregivers noted their participation goes far beyond study visits: they prepare participants for visits physically (e.g. washing, dressing) and mentally (e.g. detailing what visits will involve and supporting anxious or angry loved ones), accompany them on visits, and help participants recover from their change in schedule. Caregivers also carry the psychological burden of providing continual reassurance and being the sole person to answer participant’s questions, particularly until trust is built with the study team, and face challenges in taking time off and re‐organizing appointments where necessary.ConclusionCaregiver support and time commitments go far beyond study visits. The guidance provided by caregivers in the CareRing initiative has helped us adapt the design and holistic management of the Brainshuttle AD trial, and co‐create/refine specialized support for both caregivers and participants.

The Role of Automation in Reducing Testing Time for Banking Systems

Software testing is an activity designed to assess a program's quality and make improvements by finding errors and issues. Testing is a technique that is used to identify software flaws and confirm that the program has reached a certain level of quality in relation to certain characteristics. Players in the banking and financial sectors are up against several internal and external obstacles. They must concentrate on generating value for customers by emphasizing cost effectiveness and operational efficiency if they want to thrive. Automation is the only realistic possibility for doing this in the current economic and technological context. The adoption was made with cost-cutting and increased output in mind. Financial services is no exception to the major trends that are now reshaping many businesses, including growing digitalization, the widespread use of mobile phones, and simple internet access. Automation testing is a major factor in increasing the software testing team's test efficiency. Because it is not repeatable, inconsistent, or covered enough, manual testing may not always be useful. The software industry uses test automation as a solution to this. This essay will cover test automation, including its requirements, methods, applications, advantages over manual testing, and how to choose which test cases to automate. As a result, there are several testing tools on the market; we'll also talk about the Selenium automation tool.

Intelligent Test Platform for Power Metering System Software

In order to meet the requirements of the operation and maintenance personnel for the power metering system software, when updating the software version, they can independently, quickly and effectively control the quality of the software, an intelligent test platform is designed. Based on the platform, the software operation and maintenance personnel can simply select the corresponding records from the test scripts, test cases and automatic test tools in database debugged by the third-party test team, create the test plan, click the execute button, the platform will automatically connect the selected test tool, intelligently generate a set of executable command lines, to complete the functionality or performance test of the software using the selected test script and test case, and to create the reports of software defects, then a software development team repairs the defects and then the personnel performs regression testing until the new version meets the requirements.

COVID-19 Testing and Vaccine Acceptability Among Homeless-Experienced Adults: Qualitative Data from Two Samples.

BackgroundHomeless-experienced populations are at increased risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 due to their living environments and face an increased risk of severe COVID-19 disease due to underlying health conditions. Little is known about COVID-19 testing and vaccination acceptability among homeless-experienced populations.ObjectiveTo understand the facilitators and barriers to COVID-19 testing and vaccine acceptability among homeless-experienced adults.DesignWe conducted in-depth interviews with participants from July to October 2020. We purposively recruited participants from (1) a longitudinal cohort of homeless-experienced older adults in Oakland, CA (n=37) and (2) a convenience sample of people (n=57) during a mobile outreach COVID-19 testing event in San Francisco.ParticipantsAdults with current or past experience of homelessness.ApproachWe asked participants about their experiences with and attitudes towards COVID-19 testing and their perceptions of COVID-19 vaccinations. We used participant observation techniques to document the interactions between testing teams and those approached for testing. We audio-recorded, transcribed, and content analyzed all interviews and identified major themes and subthemes.Key ResultsParticipants found incentivized COVID-19 testing administered in unsheltered settings and supported by community health outreach workers (CHOWs) to be acceptable. The majority of participants expressed a positive inclination toward vaccine acceptability, citing a desire to return to routine life and civic responsibility. Those who expressed hesitancy cited a desire to see trial data, concerns that vaccines included infectious materials, and mistrust of the government.ConclusionsParticipants expressed positive evaluations of the incentivized, mobile COVID-19 testing supported by CHOWs in unsheltered settings. The majority of participants expressed a positive inclination toward vaccination. Vaccine hesitancy concerns must be addressed when designing vaccine delivery strategies that overcome access challenges. Based on the successful implementation of COVID-19 testing, we recommend mobile delivery of vaccines using trusted CHOWs to address concerns and facilitate wider access to and uptake of the COVID vaccine.

Managing protection and surveillance of health workers during COVID-19: German multi-centre survey

Abstract Background Health workers face a higher risk of infection during the COVID-19 pandemic than the average population, yet we know very little on how protection is managed in daily practice. The aim of this study is to contribute new empirical data on the management of protection in clinical settings with a focus on surveillance, using Germany as case study. Methods We draw on material gathered in multi-centre hospital surveillance online surveys in Germany, which are part of a national COVID-19 University Research Network (project B-FAST). Selected indicators include tools, strategies and access to protection, with a focus on the composition of new surveillance teams; n = 100 responses, comprising n = 33/92% of all university medical centres; n = 67/18% of participating hospitals in two German Federal States in March 2021. Results Three major strategies of protection were identified: expanding services, information and access for all health workers in the clinical setting; establishing novel surveillance teams to protect hospital employees comprising hotline, testing and tracing teams; creating large-scale in-house vaccination programs in accordance with national vaccination prioritisation policy of health workers. The composition of the surveillance teams showed high variation in relation to professional groups/skills and status. In particular, hospital hygienists (often with a professional background in nursing) were included in all teams, but their share varied from only 24% in testing to 60% in hotline and even 95% in tracing teams. Conclusions German hospitals have stepped up efforts to protect health workers primarily through comprehensive surveillance and personal protection including vaccination. Our findings reveal capacity for innovation in the management of protection especially in two areas: improving the skill-mix and leadership of surveillance teams, and strengthening the role of hospital hygienists in surveillance. Key messages The building of interdisciplinary hospital surveillance teams plays an important role in innovating surveillance and strengthening protection. The skill-mix and leadership of the surveillance teams need further research and policy investigation to improve efficiency.

Variable negative external pressure-an alternative to continuous positive airway pressure for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea: a pilot study.

To assess variable negative external pressure (vNEP) therapy using a range of pressures and varying collar sizes and shapes to identify combinations that improve the efficacy and comfort of this emerging therapy for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This prospective, open-label pilot study included 28 eligible patients (71% men) having documented moderate OSA (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] 15 events/h ≤ AHI ≤ 30 events/h) at 1 sleep clinic for an overnight, in-lab sleep trial. Each participant tested at least 2 of 6 available vNEP devices during sleep periods ≥ 2 hours. During the assessment of AHI by polysomnography, negative pressures of -20 cm H2O to -35 cm H2O were adjusted to improve each patient's response. Participants' therapeutic preferences were assessed by a questionnaire and interviews. Twenty (71%) of the participants responded to vNEP therapy: excellent response (AHI ≤ 5 events/h) was observed in 14 (50%); 6 (21%) achieved a partial response (AHI ≤ 50% baseline). For the 20 responders, the therapy reduced the fraction of total sleep time when peripheral oxygen saturation < 90% and improved minimum pulse oximetry oxygen saturation. Six patients experienced a minor, self-limited adverse event. Twenty-six participants (93%) stated that they would use vNEP nightly. In this pilot study, vNEP therapy markedly improved AHI and oxygenation in most patients with moderate OSA. The majority of participants found vNEP comfortable and preferable to prevailing OSA therapies. Further development and studies of vNEP are warranted. Registry: ClinicalTrials.gov; Name: Study of Variable Negative External Pressure (vNEP) in Reducing Respiratory Event in Individuals With OSA; URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04718142; Identifier: NCT04718142. Kram JA, Pelayo R. Variable negative external pressure-An alternative to continuous positive airway pressure for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea: A pilot study. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022;18(1):305-314.

A Framework for the Semi-Automatic Testing of Video Games

Game environments are complex interactive systems that require extensive analysis and testing to ensure that they are at a high enough quality to be released commercially. In particular, the last build of the product needs an additional and extensive beta test carried out by people that play the game in order to establish its robustness and playability. This entails additional costs from the viewpoint of a company as it requires the hiring of play testers. In the present work we propose a general software framework that integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI) Agents and Computer Vision (CV) technologies to support the test team and help to improve and accelerate the test process. We also present a prototype shadow alias detection algorithm that illustrates the effectiveness of the framework in developing automated visual debugging technology that will ease the heavy cost of beta testing games.

Civil-Military Collaboration to Facilitate Rapid Deployment of a Mobile Laboratory in Early Response to COVID-19: A High-Readiness Exercise.

Rapid and adaptable diagnostic capabilities are of great importance in the face of emerging infectious diseases. In an outbreak, timely establishment of diagnostic routines is crucial to identifying cases and preventing the spread of the disease, especially when faced with high-consequence pathogens. In this article, we describe a multiagency exercise including the rapid deployment and diagnostic adaptation of the Swedish Armed Forces mobile laboratory (biological field analysis laboratory) in the context of COVID-19. This deployment was initiated as a high-readiness exercise at the end of January 2020, when the global development of the outbreak was still uncertain. Through collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Sweden and a civilian hospital, a real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction method specific to SARS-CoV-2 was made available and adapted to the mobile laboratory, and the team established and evaluated a functional and efficient diagnostic asset along with a logistical support chain. We also organized and evaluated mobile testing teams, and the method was later used in large-scale, national, cross-sectional COVID-19 surveys in several regions of Sweden. In this article, we focus on the challenges of overbridging the civil-military interface in this context and identifying lessons learned and added values to the response during the early pandemic. We propose that the experiences from this exercise and governmental agency collaboration are valuable in preparation for future outbreaks.

Challenging the HIV Epidemic in Ontario Through PrEP and HIV Testing

The Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN) is a non-profit network which collaborates with health clinics, AIDS service and community organizations, and policy leaders in order to improve the health and wellbeing of people living with and at risk of HIV. I joined the OHTN as a member of the Collective Impact team, with a focus on examining the barriers and facilitators to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake in Ontario. PrEP is a once-daily pill which is highly effective in preventing HIV infections for HIV-negative people, however usage remains relatively low in Ontario. In this role, I liaised with the Knowledge Synthesis team at OHTN to collect, analyse, and synthesize recent scientific literature on Pre and Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) in order to create a comprehensive annotated bibliography on PrEP research. Key findings were drawn from the research to identify potential next steps to increase PrEP use for priority populations in Ontario. Findings from the annotated bibliography were presented to OHTN staff, and have been used to assist in the development of two PrEP study proposals; 1) a cisgender and transgender women-focused PrEP education package and HIV risk screening tool, and 2) a pharmacist-led PrEP delivery pilot. I also worked with the Testing and Clinical Initiatives team at the OHTN, to aid in the implementation and evaluation of two HIV-testing projects: the GetaTest pharmacy-based HIV-testing study, and the GetaKit HIV self-testing pilot program. In this role I drafted health communication materials; analysed survey data and drafted project reports for stakeholders; and provided perspectives on the HIV-care continuum, particularly on PrEP initiation, adherence, and efficacy. My work with the OHTN was important to public health because it sought to expand access to HIV testing and prevention services for priority populations in Ontario, including men who have sex with men, and cis and trans women.

Preparing for the Unknown: Simulation-based Training in a New Procedural /PACU Area to Increase Patient Safety

<h3>Background Information</h3> Opening a new procedural area and post anesthesia care unit (PACU) can present potential risk of complications. An education need was identified to establish and test workflows for 3 new procedural areas to ensure patient safety measures. Simulation-based team training was developed for all interdisciplinary team members working in the new setting. <h3>Objectives of Project</h3> The goal of this training was to test new workflows to ensure efficiency and to establish patient safety measures in a new ambulatory procedural and PACU environment. <h3>Process of Implementation</h3> All interdisciplinary team members were surveyed prior to the simulation regarding their experience with simulation training and to assess primary patient safety concerns. Nursing leadership and informatics analysts coordinated the simulation planning. A test patient was developed in the customized electronic health record (EHR) template for the procedural and PACU area. A detailed workflow was developed covering the multiple roles impacting the patient's visit. Test patients were created with three separate scenarios for the different modalities. An additional scenario was included for the activation of the institutional Medical Emergency Rapid Intervention Team (MERIT). A brief was provided prior to each simulation scenario and tasks were assigned based on roles. The scenarios followed the patient from check-in through discharge. Each simulation included several anticipated workflow challenges such as laboratory testing, specimen collection, chest X-rays and MERIT team activation. At the completion of each simulation activity, a debrief session led by PACU nursing leadership was held to discuss identified areas of improvement, patient safety concerns, workflow challenges and team collaboration. Feedback forms were provided during the simulation to record specific patient safety concerns and barriers to providing safe care. A list was compiled to address critical needs prior to the scheduled go-live date. A post-survey was provided to evaluate the effectiveness of the simulation activity. <h3>Statement of Successful Practice</h3> Post-survey results revealed that 91% of participants felt confident and prepared; 76% felt safety concerns were addressed; 18% identified patient safety concerns and all participants felt that their learning needs were met. <h3>Implications for Advancing the Practice of Perianesthesia Nursing</h3> Providing simulation training for multidisciplinary teams in a new procedural and PACU area could improve patient outcomes, establish cohesive workflows, and increase knowledge and confidence.

Redesigning the Pre-Admission Testing Process in a Specialized Children's Hospital, Moving Towards a Model of Care Coordination

<h3>Background Information</h3> We serve a patient population which includes many complex pediatric and young adult patients, who often present for surgery with an extensive list of comorbidities. Our pre-admission testing process was deemed inefficient, task focused vs. process focused. Multiple nurses could potentially touch a chart, leading to several hand offs, with no way of determining patient acuity. Our team felt overwhelmed and understaffed. <h3>Objectives of the Project</h3> Our goal with our workflow redesign was to streamline our processes, thereby increasing efficiency in the department, minimizing patient/chart handoffs and assuring a safe surgical experience for our patients. <h3>Process of Implementation</h3> Our core PreAdmit Testing team met and mapped out our current processes. This clearly illustrated the complexity of our system and the redundancies that existed. We also identified areas within our system that worked well. Four members of our team formed a task force to redesign the workflow, moving towards a model of care coordination. A point based acuity scale was developed, classifying patients as "red", "yellow" or "green", depending on number of points. Points reflect their comorbidities, complex psychosocial situations, multiple medications or required medication weans and labs and/or imaging procedures ordered in conjunction with surgical procedures. Any patient classified as "red" is assigned to one core Pre-Admit Testing nurse, who is responsible for coordinating all aspects of pre-op preparation, thus reducing handoffs. Care for "yellow" patients is also coordinated by core Pre-Admit testing staff. Patients classified as "green" can be delegated to nurses floating to the Pre-Admit office to prepare the chart and complete the pre-op phone call with the family. We are able to monitor productivity via EMR reports. <h3>Statement of Successful Practice</h3> PreAdmit Testing for our most complex patients has been streamlined, thus minimizing hand offs and assuring comprehensive preparation for surgery. Staff feedback confirmed that efficiency in the PreAdmit Testing office has improved as well as team satisfaction. Anesthesia colleagues have also reported satisfaction with our processes. <h3>Implications for Advancing the Practice of Perianesthesia Nursing</h3> In the future, the patient's acuity score will be available in the EMR to help guide pre-op as well as post-op care. It is our belief that streamlining our processes will improve patient safety.

SARS-CoV-2 PCR and antibody testing for an entire rural community: methods and feasibility of high-throughput testing procedures

BackgroundEarly in the pandemic, inadequate SARS-CoV-2 testing limited understanding of transmission. Chief among barriers to large-scale testing was unknown feasibility, particularly in non-urban areas. Our objective was to report methods of high-volume, comprehensive SARS-CoV-2 testing, offering one model to augment disease surveillance in a rural community.MethodsA community-university partnership created an operational site used to test most residents of Bolinas, California regardless of symptoms in 4 days (April 20th – April 23rd, 2020). Prior to testing, key preparatory elements included community mobilization, pre-registration, volunteer recruitment, and data management. On day of testing, participants were directed to a testing lane after site entry. An administrator viewed the lane-specific queue and pre-prepared test kits, linked to participants’ records. Medical personnel performed sample collection, which included finger prick with blood collection to run laboratory-based antibody testing and respiratory specimen collection for polymerase chain reaction (PCR).ResultsUsing this 4-lane model, 1,840 participants were tested in 4 days. A median of 57 participants (IQR 47–67) were tested hourly. The fewest participants were tested on day 1 (n = 338 participants), an intentionally lower volume day, increasing to n = 571 participants on day 4. The number of testing teams was also increased to two per lane to allow simultaneous testing of multiple participants on days 2–4. Consistent staffing on all days helped optimize proficiency, and strong community partnership was essential from planning through execution.ConclusionsHigh-volume ascertainment of SARS-CoV-2 prevalence by PCR and antibody testing was feasible when conducted in a community-led, drive-through model in a non-urban area.

Emergency nurses’ attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration and teamwork and their affecting factors: A cross-sectional study

Background: The emergency department (ED) is a multidisciplinary department and seriously needs interprofessional collaboration (IPC). Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the emergency nurses’ attitudes toward IPC and teamwork and their affecting factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 138 emergency nurses working in teaching hospitals affiliated to Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran, from January to April 2019. Data were collected using a three-part questionnaire including a demographic data sheet, the Jefferson Scale of Attitudes toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration, and the Testing Team Attitude Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, analysis of variance, and multivariate regression analysis. Results: The majority of the study participants were female (68.1%), in the age range of 30–40 years old (44.2%), and had a working experience of 1–5 years in the ED (63.8%). The mean scores of nurses’ attitudes toward IPC and teamwork were 48.68 ± 5.14 and 96.15 ± 8.97, respectively. A direct and strong correlation was found between nurses’ attitudes toward IPC and teamwork (r = 0.594, P = 0.001). Regression analysis showed that, among all variables, only the participants’ employment status (compulsory governmental services, P < 0.031 and B = 2.356), overall work experience between 1 and 5 years (P < 0.001 and B = -3.769), and the attitude toward teamwork (P < 0.001 and B = 0.350) could significantly predict nurses’ attitude toward IPC. Conclusion: The attitudes of emergency nurses toward IPC and teamwork were at an optimal level. Nurses’ belief in IPC and especially belief in nurse–physician collaboration plays an important role in providing quality care and keeping patient safety in ED. Joint in-service workshops on the philosophy and principles of IPC and teamwork for nurses and physicians working in EDs can further strengthen the IPC.

An effective software reliability growth model

Reliability is an end-user quality feature related to system usage. Software reliability modelling has gained a lot of importance due to the growing need for high-quality software. The paper presents a new Software reliability growth model (SRGM) following the structure of the logistic growth model. As testing progresses, the skill of testing team will improve which will lead to higher fault detection rate. We incorporate this factor with the help of a time-dependent fault detection rate function suggested in Generalised Goel model. The model is applied to three different widely used software failure datasets. Four different performance criteria namely MSE (Mean Square Error), Variance, PRR (Predictive Ratio Risk) and R2 have been used to analyse the model. The model fits significantly better than other existing models.

Rapid serological tests for SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM - not worth attention?

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) had spread worldwide since December 2019 and became a pandemic in March 2020. The diagnosis of an active infection is based on the real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) from the nasopharyngeal swab specimen. The aim of the current analysis was to assess the usefulness of the rapid serological tests for diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 infections. The rapid serological tests detecting IgG/IgM antibodies for SARS-CoV-2 were voluntarily performed in asymptomatic employees of 2 companies. The examination was conducted at the date and time selected online by the study participants. The testing team consisted of 2 nurses collecting the samples and 1 doctor who interpreted the results. Each positive rapid test result was verified by an RT-PCR examination from a nasopharyngeal swab. The testing kits named Vazyme: 2019-nCoV IgG/IgM Detection Kit (Colloidal Gold-Based) were provided by the employer along with the manual and certificates. The overall interest in testing among employees was below the employer's expectations and reached 30% and 20% in each of the 2 companies, respectively. A total of 516 participants were included in the analysis. Ten positive results of the rapid tests were documented, including 7 for IgM and 3 for IgG antibodies. No positive result was confirmed by the detection of the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 by the RT-PCR examination. Herein, the authors demonstrated the uselessness of rapid serological tests performed in asymptomatic volunteers for diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 infections. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2021;34(2):203-9.

CONSIDERATIONS ON ALGORITHMS OF SELECTION AND COMPONENTS FORMING OF ON-BOARD INFORMATION AND MEASURING COMPLEXES AND REGISTRATION SYSTEMS. PECULIARITIES OF THEIR APPLICATION

On-board information and measuring complexes and registration systems are intended to control the parameters of both systems and components of the prototype and the sample of automotive and armored vehicles in general to obtain qualitative and quantitative characteristics to assess their compliance with specifications of technical development requirements.&#x0D; At present stage, there is often a need to improve methods for optimizing the development of on-board systems for collecting and processing information to ensure conducting of testing works, which take into account particulars of the electronic equipment development and are based on a unified approach to the optimal use of resources of collection and information processing systems.&#x0D; Analysis of the problem of rational use of resources of standard means of measurement, registration and indication in the system of onboard measurements and further processing of the results in automated systems for collecting and processing information for their use in testing mass produced (modernized) aircraft was previously considered by Soviet, Ukrainian and foreign scientists. But they do not give a complete picture of the algorithm, completeness and quality of tests using standard measuring instruments installed on board aircraft and do not answer a number of questions related to the optimization of the computational process.&#x0D; In particular, the potentials of standard means of measurement, registration and indication as part of the on- board measurement system for testing mass produced (modernized) aircraft and installed components, units and systems under test are not fully explored. The issue of building optimal data collection programs that implement the inquiry of measuring channels with restrictions on the frequency of channel inquiry and information processing speed is insufficiently studied.&#x0D; The novelty of the research consists in the developing of an algorithm for capabilities analysis and procedure for incorporating standard measuring, registration and indication instruments in the on-board measuring system within a single measuring and information field for testing mass produced (modernized) samples of weapons.&#x0D; Approbation and implementation of the abovementioned algorithms will allow test teams to minimize time spent on the development (selection) of the onboard measurement system to ensure research and testing of both modernized aircraft, vehicles and armored vehicles and newly created with advanced information systems.

Change‐points‐based software scheduling

AbstractSoftware reliability literature consists of various change‐point‐based software reliability growth models and related release time problems. The primary assumption of the existing models is the existence of change‐point before software release time only. This does not look practical as the testing team becomes more proficient in detecting the faults due to their continuous involvement in software development by the software release time. Hence the fault detection rate in the pre‐ and postrelease phase is not the same. To capture this change in fault detection rate in the pre‐ and postrelease testing phase, we propose a new software reliability modeling framework by considering two change‐points during the software lifecycle; that is, there exists a change‐point before release time and release time as a change‐point. Further, in the last one‐decade software firms have changed their strategy of stop testing the software after release and continue to test even after release to remove the number of faults to provide better user experiences. This phenomenon attracted academicians to develop theoretical as well empirical study on postrelease testing and formulation of related release time problem. In this paper, we propose a software cost model to determine optimal release and testing stop time considering under the assumption of two change‐points as mentioned above. The proposed model is validated on real‐life data set.

Containing the COVID-19 pandemic with drones - Feasibility of a drone enabled back-up transport system.

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly altered common social and economic patterns as governments all over the world have been forced to take drastic measures to counter the spread of the disease. Among them, quarantine, the closure of borders, and social distancing are the ones that have affected transportation systems most severely. With the clear need to avoid all unnecessary direct human contact, an increased interest in contactless transportation and delivery modes emerged. Drones are a promising alternative in this regard, especially for the delivery of essential goods, such as COVID-19 viral tests. In this study, we therefore investigate how drones can be used to distribute viral tests to potentially infected patients. The novel approach that we propose is to use existing drone infrastructure to perform this task, where drones owned and operated by different public and private entities are retrofitted for the distribution of essential goods in the case of emergency. In a wider sense, we hence suggest the establishment of a drone enabled back-up transport system. Potential performance gains are analyzed through a mathematical time and cost model that was developed in close cooperation with the state Red Cross Organization and a utility drone manufacturer. Process design as well as parameter estimation are based on empirical investigation including, but not limited to, accompanying a COVID-19 mobile testing team in the field. The practical feasibility was verified by retrofitting drones initially assigned to other purposes. Additionally, policy recommendations, such as the establishment of public-public and public-private partnerships, were identified.

Determining the acceptability of testing contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases to improve secondary case ascertainment.

ABSTRACTBackgroundUK asymptomatic contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases are not routinely tested for SARS-CoV-2. Testing contacts may improve case ascertainment and reduce onward transmission. This study investigated the acceptability of SARS-CoV-2 testing among contacts of confirmed cases as an integral part of the contact-tracing process.MethodsA cross-sectional descriptive survey of case contacts was conducted in the UK. All contacts who completed a telephone call with the NHS Test and Trace Agile Lighthouse team were eligible for inclusion and were offered a molecular test. Consenting participants were sent a self-swab kit.ResultsOf the 1523 individuals contacted, 602 (39.5%) accepted the test offer. Of the 240 (39.9%) samples returned for testing, 16.3% tested polymerase chain reaction-positive for SARS-CoV-2.Most individuals who declined with a reason (638/905; 70.5%) reported they had already taken or booked a SARS-CoV-2 test, or were part of a testing programme. Matched laboratory records confirmed 73.1% of those who declined were tested by another route.ConclusionsMost case contacts were tested, either through arranging a test by themselves or by accepting the study offer. Results demonstrate high acceptability, with substantial test positivity, indicating that there is public health benefit in offering tests to contacts as a routine part of the contact-tracing process.