Project productivity is a key factor for producing effort estimates from Use Case Points (UCP), especially when the historical dataset is absent. The first versions of UCP effort estimation models used a fixed number or very limited numbers of productivity ratios for all new projects. These approaches have not been well examined over a large number of projects so the validity of these studies w...

To further investigate neural effects on leptin and uncoupling proteins (UCPs), we studied in vivo perturbations intended to block adrenergic input to peripheral tissues. We examined plasma leptin, leptin mRNA, and adipose and muscle UCP subtype mRNA in rats treated with α-methyl- p-tyrosine methyl ester (AMPT-ME), which inhibits catecholamine synthesis and 6-hydroxydopamine (6HDA), which is to...

Diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA) is still a major problem in routine clinical practice. Early diagnosis is essential for a good patient prognosis. PCR is a highly sensitive method for the detection of nucleic acids and could play an important role in improving the diagnosis of fungal infections. Therefore, a novel DNA extraction method, ultraclean production (UCP), was developed allowin...

Central administration of melanocortin 3 and 4 receptor (MC3/4-R) agonists increases energy expenditure, with the hypothalamus commonly held as the primary site of action. It is also clear, however, that MC4-R are expressed in caudal brainstem structures of relevance to the control of energy expenditure. Three experiments investigated whether hindbrain MC-R contribute to the energy expenditure ...

Nutritional status is a critical element of many aspects of animal ecology, but has proven difficult to measure non-invasively in studies of free-ranging animals. Urinary C-peptide of insulin (UCP), a small polypeptide cleaved in an equimolar ratio from proinsulin when the body converts it to insulin, offers great promise in this regard, and recent studies of several non-human primate species h...

There is evidence that user-centred development increases the user-friendliness of resulting products and thus the distinguishing features compared to products of competitors. However, the user-centred development requires comprehensive software and usability engineering skills to keep the process both cost-effective and time-effective. This paper covers that problem and provides insights in so...

There is evidence that user-centred development increases the user-friendliness of resulting products and thus the distinguishing features compared to products of competitors. However, the user-centred development requires comprehensive software and usability engineering skills to keep the process both cost-effective and time-effective. This paper covers that problem and provides insights in so...