Extending the Carrel system to mediate in the organ and tissue allocation processes: a first approach

In this paper we extend the formalization of Carrel, a virtual organization for the procurement of tissues for transplantation purposes, in order to model also the procurement of human organs for transplants. We will focus in the organ allocation process to show how it can be formalized with the ISLANDER formalism. Also we present a first mechanism to federate the institution in several geographically-distributed platforms.Postprint (published version

On-Disk Data Processing: Issues and Future Directions

In this paper, we present a survey of "on-disk" data processing (ODDP). ODDP, which is a form of near-data processing, refers to the computing arrangement where the secondary storage drives have the data processing capability. Proposed ODDP schemes vary widely in terms of the data processing capability, target applications, architecture and the kind of storage drive employed. Some ODDP schemes provide only a specific but heavily used operation like sort whereas some provide a full range of operations. Recently, with the advent of Solid State Drives, powerful and extensive ODDP solutions have been proposed. In this paper, we present a thorough review of architectures developed for different on-disk processing approaches along with current and future challenges and also identify the future directions which ODDP can take.Comment: 24 pages, 17 Figures, 3 Table

Pattern Reification as the Basis for Description-Driven Systems

One of the main factors driving object-oriented software development for information systems is the requirement for systems to be tolerant to change. To address this issue in designing systems, this paper proposes a pattern-based, object-oriented, description-driven system (DDS) architecture as an extension to the standard UML four-layer meta-model. A DDS architecture is proposed in which aspects of both static and dynamic systems behavior can be captured via descriptive models and meta-models. The proposed architecture embodies four main elements - firstly, the adoption of a multi-layered meta-modeling architecture and reflective meta-level architecture, secondly the identification of four data modeling relationships that can be made explicit such that they can be modified dynamically, thirdly the identification of five design patterns which have emerged from practice and have proved essential in providing reusable building blocks for data management, and fourthly the encoding of the structural properties of the five design patterns by means of one fundamental pattern, the Graph pattern. A practical example of this philosophy, the CRISTAL project, is used to demonstrate the use of description-driven data objects to handle system evolution.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figure

Integrating CLIPS applications into heterogeneous distributed systems

SOCIAL is an advanced, object-oriented development tool for integrating intelligent and conventional applications across heterogeneous hardware and software platforms. SOCIAL defines a family of 'wrapper' objects called agents, which incorporate predefined capabilities for distributed communication and control. Developers embed applications within agents and establish interactions between distributed agents via non-intrusive message-based interfaces. This paper describes a predefined SOCIAL agent that is specialized for integrating C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS)-based applications. The agent's high-level Application Programming Interface supports bidirectional flow of data, knowledge, and commands to other agents, enabling CLIPS applications to initiate interactions autonomously, and respond to requests and results from heterogeneous remote systems. The design and operation of CLIPS agents are illustrated with two distributed applications that integrate CLIPS-based expert systems with other intelligent systems for isolating and mapping problems in the Space Shuttle Launch Processing System at the NASA Kennedy Space Center

Coordinating complex problem-solving among distributed intelligent agents

A process-oriented control model is described for distributed problem solving. The model coordinates the transfer and manipulation of information across independent networked applications, both intelligent and conventional. The model was implemented using SOCIAL, a set of object-oriented tools for distributing computing. Complex sequences of distributed tasks are specified in terms of high level scripts. Scripts are executed by SOCIAL objects called Manager Agents, which realize an intelligent coordination model that routes individual tasks to suitable server applications across the network. These tools are illustrated in a prototype distributed system for decision support of ground operations for NASA's Space Shuttle fleet

Creating agent platforms to host agent-mediated services that share resources

After a period where the Internet was exclusively filled with content, the present efforts are moving towards services, which handle the raw information to create value from it. Therefore labors to create a wide collection of agent-based services are being perfomed in several projects, such as Agentcities does. In this work we present an architecture for agent platforms named a-Buildings. The aim of the proposed architecture is to ease the creation, installation, search and management of agent-mediated services and the share of resources among services. To do so the a-Buildings architecture creates a new level of abstraction on top of the standard FIPA agent platform specification. Basically, an a-Building is a service-oriented platform which offers a set of low level services to the agents it hosts. We define low level services as those required services that are neccesary to create more complex high level composed services.Postprint (published version