A Process Framework for Semantics-aware Tourism Information Systems

The growing sophistication of user requirements in tourism due to the advent of new technologies such as the Semantic Web and mobile computing has imposed new possibilities for improved intelligence in Tourism Information Systems (TIS). Traditional software engineering and web engineering approaches cannot suffice, hence the need to find new product development approaches that would sufficiently enable the next generation of TIS. The next generation of TIS are expected among other things to: enable semantics-based information processing, exhibit natural language capabilities, facilitate inter-organization exchange of information in a seamless way, and evolve proactively in tandem with dynamic user requirements. In this paper, a product development approach called Product Line for Ontology-based Semantics-Aware Tourism Information Systems (PLOSATIS) which is a novel hybridization of software product line engineering, and Semantic Web engineering concepts is proposed. PLOSATIS is presented as potentially effective, predictable and amenable to software process improvement initiatives

Utilizing RNA-Seq technique to improve molecular understanding of Chinese Hamster ovary (CHO) cell bioprocessing

Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells are an important biopharmaceutical cell line, accounting for the production of over 70% of the approved protein therapeutics. However several limitations exist with the use of CHO cell lines including low product titers. Understanding of CHO cells in bioprocessing has up until now relied heavily on empirical results with a limited knowledge of the intracellular dynamics. With the recent establishment of both Chinese hamster and CHO-K1 cell line genome assemblies, it is now possible to leverage the genomic resources to better understand and further improve CHO cell bioprocessing. In this study, RNA-Seq, next-generation transcriptome sequencing, was used to characterize the gene expression profile of three different CHO cell lines under several industrially relevant conditions including low culture temperature and pH. Each culture condition sample was sequenced by HiSeq 2000 and contained over 15 million short reads, which were assembled using the Chinese hamster reference genome (v1.01). Differential gene expression between conditions was statistically quantified based on generalized linear models using edgeR software for the replicate samples. One of the applications of the RNA-Seq analysis method, in this study, was to observe and understand the impact of low culture temperature on CHO gene expression behavior. In a CHO-K1 cell line adapted to protein-free medium, the cultures grown at 33°C had higher expression of 251 genes and lower expression of 15 genes (filter criteria were a minimum of two-fold expression change and FDR ≤ 0.05) compared to cultures grown at 37°C. These genes could be utilized as potential targets for cellular and metabolic engineering to further improve CHO cell lines. The current investigation presents the potential of next-generation sequencing techniques for advanced characterization of CHO cell bioprocessing

Applying Product Line Approach for a Control System Family

This thesis was done for Metso Corporation as a part of RESPO project. RESPO is one of the ten projects in EFFIMA (Energy and Life Cycle Efficient Machines) research program. EFFIMA belongs to FIMECC’s (Finnish Metals and Engineering Competence Cluster) Intelligent Solutions (IS) strategic research theme. The purpose of task 2 in RESPO is to develop models and design principles into the development of software architecture. The goal of this thesis is to study the possibilities of applying software product line approach to rock crushing control system family. Several software-related problems have been recognized with the control system family. These include the long lifecycles and heterogeneity in the family. Another challenge is to manage variations in the family. The uncontrolled variations and heterogeneity prevent the effective reuse and increase the amount of extra work throughout the product lifecycle. The product line approach is applied to find solutions to the problems presented before. The approach in this thesis concentrates in the early development phase of the product line that includes addressing business, organizational, process and technological aspects. The variations in the current product family are modelled by scoping the requirements and the properties of control systems. The scoping is used to provide an understanding of the development trend in the business segment and thus to estimate future requirements. It is also used to provide better means for variation management in the product family. The scoping process and the variation modelling are used to create preliminary modernized product line architecture for next generation control systems. Less development and maintenance costs, shorter time-to-market, less errors, increased expandability, strategic reuse and easier product management are key incentives for the new architecture approach. To achieve these, the organization and its processes must be adapted and committed to the product line concept. In order to gain full benefits from the approach, the strengths and the weaknesses of both architecture and the product line itself need to be evaluated

Applying Product Line Approach for a Control System Family

This thesis was done for Metso Corporation as a part of RESPO project. RESPO is one of the ten projects in EFFIMA (Energy and Life Cycle Efficient Machines) research program. EFFIMA belongs to FIMECC’s (Finnish Metals and Engineering Competence Cluster) Intelligent Solutions (IS) strategic research theme. The purpose of task 2 in RESPO is to develop models and design principles into the development of software architecture. The goal of this thesis is to study the possibilities of applying software product line approach to rock crushing control system family. Several software-related problems have been recognized with the control system family. These include the long lifecycles and heterogeneity in the family. Another challenge is to manage variations in the family. The uncontrolled variations and heterogeneity prevent the effective reuse and increase the amount of extra work throughout the product lifecycle. The product line approach is applied to find solutions to the problems presented before. The approach in this thesis concentrates in the early development phase of the product line that includes addressing business, organizational, process and technological aspects. The variations in the current product family are modelled by scoping the requirements and the properties of control systems. The scoping is used to provide an understanding of the development trend in the business segment and thus to estimate future requirements. It is also used to provide better means for variation management in the product family. The scoping process and the variation modelling are used to create preliminary modernized product line architecture for next generation control systems. Less development and maintenance costs, shorter time-to-market, less errors, increased expandability, strategic reuse and easier product management are key incentives for the new architecture approach. To achieve these, the organization and its processes must be adapted and committed to the product line concept. In order to gain full benefits from the approach, the strengths and the weaknesses of both architecture and the product line itself need to be evaluated

GOES-R Algorithms: A Common Science and Engineering Design and Development Approach for Delivering Next Generation Environmental Data Products

GOES-R, the next generation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) System, represents a new technological era in operational geostationary environmental satellite systems. GOES-R will provide advanced products that describe the state of the atmosphere, land, oceans, and solar/ space environments over the western hemisphere. The Harris GOES-R Ground Segment team will provide the software, based on government-supplied algorithms, and engineering infrastructures designed to produce and distribute these next-generation data products. The Harris GOES-R Team has adopted an integrated applied science and engineering approach that combines rigorous system engineering methods, with modern software design elements to facilitate the transition of algorithms for Level 1 and 2+ products to operational software. The Harris Team GOES-R GS algorithm framework, which includes a common data model interface, provides general design principles and standardized methods for developing general algorithm services, interfacing to external data, generating intermediate and L1b and L2 products and implementing common algorithm features such as metadata generation and error handling. This work presents the suite of GOES-R products, their properties and the process by which the related requirements are maintained during the complete design/development life-cycle. It also describes the algorithm architecture/engineering approach that will be used to deploy these algorithms, and provides a preliminary implementation road map for the development of the GOES-R GS software infrastructure, and a view into the integration of the framework and data model into the final design

Towards Product Lining Model-Driven Development Code Generators

A code generator systematically transforms compact models to detailed code. Today, code generation is regarded as an integral part of model-driven development (MDD). Despite its relevance, the development of code generators is an inherently complex task and common methodologies and architectures are lacking. Additionally, reuse and extension of existing code generators only exist on individual parts. A systematic development and reuse based on a code generator product line is still in its infancy. Thus, the aim of this paper is to identify the mechanism necessary for a code generator product line by (a) analyzing the common product line development approach and (b) mapping those to a code generator specific infrastructure. As a first step towards realizing a code generator product line infrastructure, we present a component-based implementation approach based on ideas of variability-aware module systems and point out further research challenges.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Model-Driven Engineering and Software Development, pp. 539-545, Angers, France, SciTePress, 201