An agile model-driven method for involving end-users in DSL development

[EN] Domain-specific languages (DSLs) are considered to be a powerful tool for enhancing the efficiency of software developers and bring software development closer to end-users from complex domains. However, the successful development of a DSL for a complex domain is a challenge from the technical point of view and because end-user acceptance is key. Despite this fact, the relevant role of end-users during DSL development has traditionally been neglected. Normally, end-users participate at the beginning to communicate their preferences but they do not participate again until the DSL is completely implemented. As a consequence, if the language to develop reaches a complex domain, the chances that errors appear in the DSL are higher and solving them could involve large modifications that could have been avoided. As a solution, in this PhD thesis, we propose an agile, model-driven method to involve end-users in DSL development. This thesis researches if the combination of best practices from the model-driven development (MDD) discipline and best practices from agile methods is a suitable approach to involve end-users in the DSL development process. In order to validate the proposal, we have selected a highly complex domain such as the genetic analysis domain and we have collaborated with geneticists from three organizations. The proposed method has been used to involve these geneticists in the development of a DSL for the creation of genetic analysis pipelines. Simultaneously, we have carried out an empirical experiment to validate whether end-users and developers were satisfied with the proposal.[ES] Los lenguajes específicos de dominio (DSLs) son una herramienta muy potente para mejorar la eficiencia de los desarrolladores de software, así como para acercar el desarrollo software a usuarios sin conocimientos informáticos. Sin embargo, su principal problema es que desarrollar un DSL es complejo; no sólo desde el punto de vista técnico, sino especialmente porque la aceptación de dicho lenguaje por parte de los usuarios finales es clave. A pesar de este hecho, los métodos tradicionales de desarrollo de DSLs no enfatizan el importante rol de los usuarios finales durante el desarrollo. Normalmente, los usuarios participan al inicio para comunicar sus preferencias, pero no vuelven a participar hasta que el DSL está completamente desarrollado. Si el lenguaje a desarrollar aborda un dominio complejo, la posibilidad de que existan errores en el DSL es mayor, y su solución podría conllevar a modificaciones de gran calibre que podrían haberse evitado. Como solución, en esta tesis proponemos un método de desarrollo de DSLs, ágil, y dirigido por modelos que involucra a los usuarios finales. Esta tesis investiga si la combinación de buenas prácticas del desarrollo dirigido por modelos (MDD) y de buenas prácticas de métodos ágiles es adecuada para involucrar a los usuarios finales en el desarrollo de DSLs. Para validar la idoneidad de la propuesta, se ha seleccionado un dominio complejo como el de los análisis genéticos y se ha colaborado con un conjunto de genetistas procedentes de tres organizaciones. El método propuesto se ha utilizado para involucrar a dichos genetistas en el desarrollo de un DSL para la creación de pipelines para el análisis genético. Conjuntamente, se ha llevado a cabo un experimento empírico para validar si los usuarios finales y los desarrolladores están satisfechos con la propuesta de la presente tesis. En resumen, las contribuciones principales de esta tesis doctoral son el diseño e implementación de un método innovador, ágil y dirigido por modelos para involucrar a los usuarios finales en el desarrollo de DSLs, así como la validación de dicha propuesta en un entorno industrial en un desarrollo real de un DSL.[CA] Els llenguatges específics de domini (DSLs) son una ferramenta molt potent per a millorar l'eficiència dels desenvolupadors de programari, així com per a apropar el desenvolupament de programari a usuaris sense coneixements informàtics. El problema es que desenvolupar un DSL es complex, no sols des del punt de vista tècnic, sinó especialment perquè l'acceptació de dit llenguatge per part dels usuaris finals es clau. Malgrat aquest fet, els mètodes tradicionals de desenvolupament de DSLs no emfatitzen l'important rol dels usuaris finals durant el desenvolupament. Normalment, els usuaris participen a l'inici per a comunicar les seues preferències, però no tornen a participar fins que el DSL està completament desenvolupat. Si el llenguatge a desenvolupar aborda un domini complex, la possibilitat de que hi hagen errors en el DSL es major i solucionar-los podria implicar modificacions de gran calibre que podrien haver-se evitat. Com a solució, en aquesta tesis proposem un mètode de desenvolupament de DSLs, àgil i dirigit per models que involucra als usuaris finals. Aquesta tesis investiga si la combinació de bones pràctiques del desenvolupament dirigit per models (MDD) i de bones pràctiques de mètodes àgils es adequada per a involucrar els usuaris finals en el desenvolupament de DSLs. Per a validar la idoneïtat de la proposta, s'ha seleccionat un domini complex com el dels anàlisis genètics i s'ha col·laborat amb un conjunt de genetistes procedents de tres organitzacions. El mètode s'ha utilitzat per a involucrar a dits genetistes en el desenvolupament d'un DSL per a la creació de pipelines per al anàlisis genètic. Al mateix temps, s'ha dut a terme un experiment empíric per a validar si tant els usuaris finals com els desenvolupadors estan satisfets amb la proposta de la present tesis. En resum, les contribucions principals d'aquesta tesis doctoral son el disseny i implementació d'un mètode innovador, àgil i dirigit per models per a involucrar als usuaris finals en el desenvolupament de DSLs, així com la validació de la proposta en un entorn industrial amb un desenvolupament real d'un DSL.Villanueva Del Pozo, MJ. (2016). An agile model-driven method for involving end-users in DSL development [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/60156TESI

Osteoporosis and paleopathology: a review

Osteoporosis is a complex and heterogeneous disorder, of multi-factor aetiology. It is the most frequent metabolic bone disorder, affecting an increasing number of post-menopausal women and aging individuals from both sexes. Although first recognized more than 250 years ago, the clinical and epidemiological knowledge about osteoporosis is largely limited to the last 70 years. Within the conceptual frames of paleopathology, disease is necessarily perceived in a space without depth (the skeleton) and of coincidence without development (the crucial moment of death) -but is also interpreted in a time interval which adds an historical gaze to its "biography". The study of osteoporosis in past populations (which faced sociocultural conditions utterly different from the genus vitae experienced by modern communities) supplements diachronic depth to the knowledge about bone modifications related to age, menopausal status or lifestyle. This article aims to provide a comprehensive record on the history of osteoporosis and fragility fractures as perceived by the biomedical, historical and, particularly, paleopathological sciences. As such, the main focus of this review is to present an exhaustive and historical-framed exposition of the studies of osteoporosis, bone loss and associated fractures within the field of paleopathology and, to a lesser extent, in the history of medicine. A biomedical-oriented synopsis of the main operational definitions, etiological agents and epidemiological features of osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures is also provided

Type 2 diabetes genes : present status and data from Norwegian studies

The worldwide rise in prevalence of type 2 diabetes has led to an intense search for the genetic risk factors of this disease. In type 2 diabetes and other complex disorders, multiple genetic and environmental factors, as well as the interaction between these factors, determine the phenotype. In this review, we summarize present knowledge, generated by more than two decades of efforts to dissect the genetic architecture of type 2 diabetes. Initial studies were either based on a candidate gene approach or attempted to fine-map signals generated from linkage analysis. Despite the detection of multiple genomic regions proposed to be linked to type 2 diabetes, subsequent positional fine-mapping of candidates were mostly inconclusive. However, the introduction of genome-wide association studies (GWAS), applied on thousands of patients and controls, completely changed the field. To date, more than 50 susceptibility loci for type 2 diabetes have been detected through the establishment of large research consortia, the application of GWAS on intermediary diabetes phenotypes and the use of study samples of different ethnicities. Still, the common variants identified in the GWAS era only explain some of the heritability seen for type 2 diabetes. Thus, focus is now shifting towards searching also for rare variants using new high-throughput sequencing technologies. For genes involved in the genetic predisposition to type 2 diabetes the emerging picture is that there are hundreds of different gene variants working in a complex interplay influencing pancreatic beta cell function/mass and, only to a lesser extent, insulin action. Several Norwegian studies have contributed to the field, extending our understanding of genetic risk factors in type 2 diabetes and in diabetes-related phenotypes like obesity and cardiovascular disease.publishedVersio

Re-evaluating Moodie's Opisthotonic-Posture Hypothesis in Fossil Vertebrates Part I: Reptiles—the taphonomy of the bipedal dinosaurs Compsognathus longipes and Juravenator starki from the Solnhofen Archipelago (Jurassic, Germany)

More or less complete and articulated skeletons of fossil air-breathing vertebrates with a long neck and tail often exhibit a body posture in which the head and neck are recurved over the back of the animal. Additionally, the tail is typically drawn over the body, while the limbs have a rigid appearance. In palaeontological literature, this "opisthotonic posture” of such fossils still requires a causal interpretation in an etiological context. According to this hypothesis, there is a presumption of a cerebral disorder generating perimortem muscle spasms that are preserved by rapid burial or other sequestration of a skeleton in the fossil record. We re-evaluate this "opisthotonic posture hypothesis” by analysing the non-avian theropods Compsognathus longipes and Juravenator starki from the famous South Franconian plattenkalks of the Upper Jurassic Solnhofen Archipelago. Decay experiments with the extant domestic fowl Gallus gallus L. and analysis of the theropods' constructional morphological constraints reveal that the opisthotonic posture is not a peri- but a postmortem phenomenon. By analysing the timeline of decomposition, it is possible to recognise different stages of decay, depending on the varying decay resistance of soft tissues. Adipocere formation must have blocked further decay until embedding was completed by minimal sedimentation. Analyses of the palaeoenvironment of the basins of the Solnhofen Archipelago show that the conditions of deposition of individual basins cannot be considered to be similar, even inside the same time frame. Therefore, a generalised approach of looking at the depositional setting must be excluded. Assumptions by Faux and Padian (2007) that the accepted palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Solnhofen Fossillagerstätte has to be questioned in the light of the opisthotonic posture hypothesis enforce the need for a review of palaeoecological factors of the Franconian Plattenkalks from a taphonomic perspectiv

K-State graduate catalog, 1993-1995

Course catalogs were published under the following titles: Catalogue of the officers and students of the Kansas State Agricultural College, with a brief history of the institution, 1st (1863/4); Annual catalogue of the officers and students of the Kansas State Agricultural College for, 2nd (1864/5)-4th (1868/9); Catalogue of the officers and students of the Kansas State Agricultural College for the year, 1869-1871/2; Hand-book of the Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kansas, 1873/4; Biennial catalogue of the Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kansas, calendar years, 1875/77; Catalogue of the State Agricultural College of Kansas, 1877/80-1896/97; Annual catalogue of the officers, students and graduates of the Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan, 35th (1897/98)-46th (1908/09); Catalogue, 47th (1909/10)-67th (1929/30); Complete catalogue number, 68th (1930/31)-81st (1943/1944); Catalogue, 1945/1946-1948/1949?; General catalogue, 1949/1950?-1958/1960; General catalog, 1960/1962-1990/1992. Course catalogs then split into undergraduate and graduate catalogs respectively: K-State undergraduate catalog, 1992/1994- ; K-State graduate catalog, 1993/1995-Citation: Kansas State University. (1993). K-State graduate catalog, 1993-1995. Manhattan, KS: Kansas State University.Call number: LD2668.A11711 K78

Maternal Diabetes, Related Biomarkers and Genes, and Risk of Orofacial Clefts

Orofacial clefts (OFCs) are among the most common congenital birth defects and are characterized by incomplete development of the lip or the palate or both. The lip and palate develop separately at different times during the first trimester of pregnancy. The etiology of OFCs is multifactorial and includes a combination of genetic and environmental factors. This project aims to examine role of maternal diabetes mellitus in orofacial clefts through studies of medical histories, biomarkers, and genes. In a study of Utah birth certificates, mothers with pre-existing diabetes and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) had an increased risk of OFCs, and obese mothers also had an increased risk. Mothers of children with OFCs were more likely than mothers of unaffected children to develop obesity, metabolic syndrome and gestational diabetes mellitus later in life. These result were more strongly related to cleft palate than cleft lip. Many genes related to GDM were associated with OFCs through genetic effects alone and gene-environment interaction effects with periconceptional maternal multivitamin use, maternal smoking, and environmental tobacco smoke. These results support the hypothesis that GDM may be causally related to OFCs via multiple GDM susceptibility genes and interactions with environmental factors. Individuals with OFCs face both physical and mental health problem, which require multi-specialty team care. OFC prevention and prediction are important to public health. This dissertation reported that maternal diabetes mellitus, maternal pre-pregnancy weight and genes related to GDM had an association with the risk of OFCs. Mothers having an OFC child had an increased risk of developing metabolic abnormalities later in life. Potential risk factors were reported in this dissertation that may be useful for OFC prevention. This dissertation also reported potential biomarkers for predicting OFCs. Moreover, mothers having an OFC child may require regular monitoring of metabolic abnormalities later in life

Pervasive computing reference architecture from a software engineering perspective (PervCompRA-SE)

Pervasive computing (PervComp) is one of the most challenging research topics nowadays. Its complexity exceeds the outdated main frame and client-server computation models. Its systems are highly volatile, mobile, and resource-limited ones that stream a lot of data from different sensors. In spite of these challenges, it entails, by default, a lengthy list of desired quality features like context sensitivity, adaptable behavior, concurrency, service omnipresence, and invisibility. Fortunately, the device manufacturers improved the enabling technology, such as sensors, network bandwidth, and batteries to pave the road for pervasive systems with high capabilities. On the other hand, this domain area has gained an enormous amount of attention from researchers ever since it was first introduced in the early 90s of the last century. Yet, they are still classified as visionary systems that are expected to be woven into people’s daily lives. At present, PervComp systems still have no unified architecture, have limited scope of context-sensitivity and adaptability, and many essential quality features are insufficiently addressed in PervComp architectures. The reference architecture (RA) that we called (PervCompRA-SE) in this research, provides solutions for these problems by providing a comprehensive and innovative pair of business and technical architectural reference models. Both models were based on deep analytical activities and were evaluated using different qualitative and quantitative methods. In this thesis we surveyed a wide range of research projects in PervComp in various subdomain areas to specify our methodological approach and identify the quality features in the PervComp domain that are most commonly found in these areas. It presented a novice approach that utilizes theories from sociology, psychology, and process engineering. The thesis analyzed the business and architectural problems in two separate chapters covering the business reference architecture (BRA) and the technical reference architecture (TRA). The solutions for these problems were introduced also in the BRA and TRA chapters. We devised an associated comprehensive ontology with semantic meanings and measurement scales. Both the BRA and TRA were validated throughout the course of research work and evaluated as whole using traceability, benchmark, survey, and simulation methods. The thesis introduces a new reference architecture in the PervComp domain which was developed using a novel requirements engineering method. It also introduces a novel statistical method for tradeoff analysis and conflict resolution between the requirements. The adaptation of the activity theory, human perception theory and process re-engineering methods to develop the BRA and the TRA proved to be very successful. Our approach to reuse the ontological dictionary to monitor the system performance was also innovative. Finally, the thesis evaluation methods represent a role model for researchers on how to use both qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate a reference architecture. Our results show that the requirements engineering process along with the trade-off analysis were very important to deliver the PervCompRA-SE. We discovered that the invisibility feature, which was one of the envisioned quality features for the PervComp, is demolished and that the qualitative evaluation methods were just as important as the quantitative evaluation methods in order to recognize the overall quality of the RA by machines as well as by human beings

K-State undergraduate catalog, 1994-1996

Course catalogs were published under the following titles: Catalogue of the officers and students of the Kansas State Agricultural College, with a brief history of the institution, 1st (1863/4); Annual catalogue of the officers and students of the Kansas State Agricultural College for, 2nd (1864/5)-4th (1868/9); Catalogue of the officers and students of the Kansas State Agricultural College for the year, 1869-1871/2; Hand-book of the Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kansas, 1873/4; Biennial catalogue of the Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kansas, calendar years, 1875/77; Catalogue of the State Agricultural College of Kansas, 1877/80-1896/97; Annual catalogue of the officers, students and graduates of the Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan, 35th (1897/98)-46th (1908/09); Catalogue, 47th (1909/10)-67th (1929/30); Complete catalogue number, 68th (1930/31)-81st (1943/1944); Catalogue, 1945/1946-1948/1949?; General catalogue, 1949/1950?-1958/1960; General catalog, 1960/1962-1990/1992. Course catalogs then split into undergraduate and graduate catalogs respectively: K-State undergraduate catalog, 1992/1994- ; K-State graduate catalog, 1993/1995-Citation: Kansas State University. (1994). K-State undergraduate catalog, 1994-1996. Manhattan, KS: Kansas State University.Call number: LD2668.A11711 K7