The SystemJ approach to system-level design

In this paper, we propose a new system-level design language, called SystemJ. It extends Java with synchronous reactive features present in Esterel and asynchronous constructs suitable for modelling globally asynchronous locally synchronous systems. The strength of SystemJ comes from its ability to offer the data processing and encapsulation elegance of Java, Esterel-like reactivity and synchrony, and the asynchronous de-coupling of CSP all within the Java framework. Using standard Java environments, for specification and modelling, or specialised reactive embedded processors, for high performance implementation, the SystemJ design flow is extremely versatile. With the increasing attention that Java gets in embedded systems, SystemJ comes to address data and control, software and hardware, modelling and implementation in a unified manner

Competitors or cousins? Studying the parallels between distributed programming languages systemJ and IEC61499

We face a glut of languages for programming distributed software today. However, only a few languages have proven their potential with wider practical use in different domains of computing. We picked two such languages, meant for different domains, to see if they could cross-pollinate and enrich one another. Specifically, we chose SystemJ, a language to program distributed embedded systems, and IEC61499, the next generation standard for distributed industrial automation control software. Unsurprisingly, we found similar structures and artifacts between the two. We also found significant differences mainly due to differing domain-specific requirements. This comparison leads to observations and guidelines for improving both languages, and we discuss directions towards an “ideal” distributed software programming language

The Impact of Minority and Women Leaders on Health Care Employee Satisfaction

A preponderance of research suggests that the presence of minorities on the front lines of health care can improve access, satisfaction, and quality of care for minority patients, in addition to mitigating health care disparities. Yet, there is little evidence of the utility of diversity efforts focused on the upper echelons of health care. By examining employee satisfaction scores from 58 hospitals across the United States, this study explored the relationship between the presence of women and minority managers and executives and two key indicators-representation of minority employees and employee satisfaction. Quantitative analyses showed that gender and racial diversity in health care leadership has a positive impact on minority employee representation and a mixed impact on satisfaction. Furthermore, a token number of minority managers had a depressive effect on minority staff satisfaction while a critical mass of minority managers had a positive effect that increased as minorities in management increased. These findings help legitimize calls to increase diversity in the leadership of health care organizations

A GALS Language for Dynamic Distributed and Reactive Programs

International audienceWe propose a Globally Asynchronous Locally Syn- chronous language DSystemJ for designing dynamic distributed systems. DSystemJ, an extension of the reactive asynchronous SystemJ language, enhances it with dynamic creation and process mobility, and uses the Java language for programming sequential data computations. Moreover, DSystemJ is equipped with a formal semantics, which allows, formal system specifi- cation, reasoning, and automatic code generation. Compared to special purpose languages, DSystemJ is better in terms of implementation, scalability, and features. Compared to general purpose languages, DSystemJ is better because it exposes, at the language level, OS features like communication, concurrency, process creation and migration, therefore making it better suited for system level design of complex distributed systems

Entrepreneurial decision-making under risk : prospect theory and dual-process theory.

This research addresses the question of why some people become entrepreneurs whereas others do not. The debate has been going on for decades in entrepreneurship. In this dissertation, I address this question by decomposing it into two related questions. The first question is whether entrepreneurs make different decisions compared to non-entrepreneurs when they are facing the same opportunities under risk. The second question is whether these differences in decision-making (if any) are due to the natural proclivity of entrepreneurs themselves. To identify the differences of entrepreneurial decision-making between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs, this study investigates the nexus between entrepreneurs and opportunities from both aspects simultaneously. From an entrepreneur’s aspect, based on dual-process theory, I examine how different styles of entrepreneurial thinking influence their decision-making. Considering an opportunity itself, based on prospect theory, I test how different types of opportunity framing influence entrepreneurial decision-making. The results indicate that entrepreneurs have lower evaluations than non-entrepreneurs do when they are facing the same opportunities under risk. The opportunities in a loss frame have higher evaluations than those in a gain frame. The evaluations are higher in System 2 thinking than in System 1 thinking. The findings suggest that entrepreneurs do make different decisions than non-entrepreneurs and that these differences are more likely due to the natural proclivities of at least some entrepreneurs. These findings provide new insights for the entrepreneurial decision-making literature and enlighten some promising future research

GRL: A Specification Language for Globally Asynchronous Locally Synchronous Systems

International audienceA GALS (Globally Asynchronous, Locally Synchronous) system consists of several synchronous subsystems that evolve concurrently and interact with each other asynchronously. Most formalisms and design tools support either the synchronous paradigm or the asynchronous paradigm but rarely combine both, which requires an intricate modeling of GALS systems. In this paper, we present a new language, called GRL (GALS Representation Language) designed to model GALS systems in an abstract and versatile manner for the purpose of formal verification. GRL has formal semantics combining the synchronous reactive model underlying dataflow languages and the asynchronous concurrent model underlying process algebras. We present the basic concepts and the main constructs of the language, together with an illustrative example

Prosudba kakvoće postupka za određivanje teških metala na reaktivnim nosačima

Quality control and validity check of the solid-phase spectrophotometric procedure (Me-SPS) for determination of heavy metals important in pharmaceutical practice: zinc (Zn-SPS), lead (Pb-SPS), and cobalt (Co-SPS) were performed using a very simple and informative prevalidation concept. Further, metrological characteristics of the Me-SPS procedure together with the diagnosis of particular prevalidation steps were evaluated. Favourable prevalidation characteristics, i.e., ideal analytical function, homogeneity of data material, low limit of quantitation, and acceptable accuracy verified the quality of the Me-SPS procedure and pointed to the limitations of some investigated systems.Koristeći jednostavnu i informativnu prevalidacijsku strategiju, provedena je kontrola kakvoće i provjera valjanosti postupka spektrofotometrije na krutoj fazi za određivanje teških metala (Me-SPS) važnih u farmaceutskoj praksi: cinka (Zn-SPS), olova (Pb-SPS) i kobalta (Co-SPS). Utvrđene su metrološke značajke Me-SPS postupka zajedno sa sustavom dijagnostike pojedinog prevalidacijskog koraka. Povoljne prevalidacijske značajke, kao što su idealna analitička funkcija, homogenost podataka, nizak prag određivanja i prihvatljiva točnost, potvrđuju kakvoću Me-SPS postupka i ukazuju na ograničenja nekih ispitivanih sustava

Localization of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor dependent rhythm generating modules in the Drosophila larval locomotor network

This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust through an ISSF award (105621/Z/14/Z) to the University of St Andrews. It was also supported by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) project grant (BB/M021793) awarded to SRP, a CASE studentship awarded to J. M. (BB/M010996/1) and a donation from Kaunas Industrial Water Supply (Kauno Pramoninis Vandentiekis, Kaunas, Lithuania) in support of J. J.Mechanisms of rhythm generation h­­ave been extensively studied in motor systems that control locomotion over terrain in limbed animals; however, much less is known about rhythm generation in soft-bodied terrestrial animals. Here we explored how muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) modulated rhythm generating networks are distributed in the central nervous system (CNS) of soft-bodied Drosophila larvae. We measured fictive motor patterns in isolated CNS preparations using a combination of Ca2+ imaging and electrophysiology while manipulating mAChR signalling pharmacologically. Bath application of the mAChR agonist oxotremorine potentiated bilaterally asymmetric activity in anterior thoracic regions and promoted bursting in posterior abdominal regions. Application of the mAChR antagonist scopolamine suppressed rhythm generation in these regions and blocked the effects of oxotremorine. Oxotremorine triggered fictive forward crawling in preparations without brain lobes. Oxotremorine also potentiated rhythmic activity in isolated posterior abdominal CNS segments as well as isolated anterior brain and thoracic regions, but it did not induce rhythmic activity in isolated anterior abdominal segments. Bath application of scopolamine to reduced preparations lowered baseline Ca2+ levels and abolished rhythmic activity. Overall, these results suggest that mAChR signalling plays a role in enabling rhythm generation at multiple sites in the larval CNS. This work furthers our understanding of motor control in soft-bodied locomotion and provides a foundation for study of rhythm generating networks in an emerging genetically tractable locomotor system.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe