Development of a software system from existing components can surely have various benefits, but can also entail a series of problems. One type of problems is caused by a limited exchange of information between the developer and user of a component. A limited exchange and thereby a lack of information can have various consequences, among them the requirement to test a component prior to its integration into a software system. A lack of information cannot only make test prior to integration necessary, it can also complicate this tasks. However, difficulties in testing can be avoided if certain provisions to increase testability are taken beforehand. This article describes a new form of improving testability of, particularly commercial, components, the self-testing COTS components (STECC) strategy.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / November 04-07, 1991 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / NASA’s reaction to requirements for the Space Station Freedom era’s telemetry data systems has been the continuing effort to combine a modular design approach with stateof-the-art VLSI technology for developing telemetry data processing systems. As part of this effort, NASA’s Data Systems Technology Division, in cooperation with Clemson University, is developing a Macintosh II based Telemetry and Command (MacTAC) system. This system performs telemetry data processing functions including frame synchronization, Reed-Solomon decoding, and packet reassembly at moderate data rates of 5 Mbps (20 Mbps burst). The MacTAC is a low-cost, transportable, easy to use, compact system designed to meet requirements specified by the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) while remaining flexible enough to support a wide variety of other user specific telemetry processing requirements (e.g., TDM data). In addition, the MacTAC can accept or generate forward data (such as spacecraft commands), calculate and append a Polynomial Check Code (PCC), and output this data to NASCOM to provide full Telemetry and Command (TAC) capability. Semi-custom VLSI gate arrays perform the return link functions of NASCOM deblocking, correlation, and frame synchronization. Reed-Solomon decoding (for error detection) and packet reassembly are also performed by modern microprocessor and semi-custom VLSI components. The local user interface is a standard Macintosh application with the wellknown look and feel of the Macintosh environment. A remote interface is possible via Ethernet which allows the system to be completely controlled from any location capable of generating the required remote operating commands. Return link data may be viewed in real time on the local or remote user interface screen in a variety of formats along with system status information. In addition, data may also be archived on SCSI disks for later retrieval and analysis as needed. This paper describes the general architecture and functionality of this MacTAC system including the particular custom telemetry cards, the various input/output interfaces, and the icon driven user interface.

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We have formed the basis for a synthetic gene regulatory network in S. cerevisiae to assess the relative contribution of proteins and protein interactions to the function of transcriptional regulatory complexes. This gene network contains two synthetic transcriptional regulator (TR) fusion proteins that control transcriptional activation and repression of a reporter expressed by a synthetic promoter. This system can be modulated and quantified specifically by our manipulations since the transcriptional regulators (TRs) are only active when drug induced. In this thesis, I characterized and optimized my gene network to enable accurate measurements of transcriptional regulation. I demonstrated that my synthetic repressor interacts with a selected native transcriptional regulatory complex. Future mutation experiments can be performed to investigate the relative importance that the selected protein interaction plays on transcriptional regulation. New synthetic repressor fusion proteins can be created to study the relative importance of protein interactions between other TRs, making this tool versatile. This tool will allow us to quantify interactions and gain a deeper understanding of the complicated mechanisms controlling transcriptional regulation.