On the Use of Allen’s Interval Algebra in the Coordination of Resource Consumption by Transactional Business Processes

This paper presents an approach to coordinate the consumption of resources by transactional business processes. Resources are associated with consumption properties known as unlimited, limited, limited-but-extensible, shareable, and non-shareable restricting their availabilities at consumption-time. And, processes are associated with transactional properties known as pivot, retriable, and compensatable restricting their execution outcomes in term of either success or failure. To consider the intrinsic characteristics of both consumption properties and transactional properties when coordinating resource consumption by processes, the approach adopts Allen’s interval algebra through different time-interval relations like before, overlaps, and during to set up the coordination, which should lead to a free-of-conflict consumption. A system demonstrating the technical doability of the approach based on a case study about loan application business-process and a real dataset is presented in the paper, as well

Integration of sperm ncRNA-directed DNA methylation and DNA methylation-directed histone retention in epigenetic transgenerational inheritance

Background: Environmentally induced epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of pathology and phenotypic variation has been demonstrated in all organisms investigated from plants to humans. This non-genetic form of inheritance is mediated through epigenetic alterations in the sperm and/or egg to subsequent generations. Although the combined regulation of differential DNA methylated regions (DMR), non-coding RNA (ncRNA), and differential histone retention (DHR) have been shown to occur, the integration of these different epigenetic processes remains to be elucidated. The current study was designed to examine the integration of the different epigenetic processes. Results: A rat model of transiently exposed F0 generation gestating females to the agricultural fungicide vinclo-zolin or pesticide DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) was used to acquire the sperm from adult males in the subsequent F1 generation offspring, F2 generation grand offspring, and F3 generation great-grand offspring. The F1 generation sperm ncRNA had substantial overlap with the F1, F2 and F3 generation DMRs, suggesting a potential role for RNA-directed DNA methylation. The DMRs also had significant overlap with the DHRs, suggesting potential DNA methylation-directed histone retention. In addition, a high percentage of DMRs induced in the F1 generation sperm were maintained in subsequent generations. Conclusions: Many of the DMRs, ncRNA, and DHRs were colocalized to the same chromosomal location regions. Observations suggest an integration of DMRs, ncRNA, and DHRs in part involve RNA-directed DNA methylation and DNA methylation-directed histone retention in epigenetic transgenerational inheritance

Impacts of indoor surface finishes on bacterial viability.

Microbes in indoor environments are constantly being exposed to antimicrobial surface finishes. Many are rendered non-viable after spending extended periods of time under low-moisture, low-nutrient surface conditions, regardless of whether those surfaces have been amended with antimicrobial chemicals. However, some microorganisms remain viable even after prolonged exposure to these hostile conditions. Work with specific model pathogens makes it difficult to draw general conclusions about how chemical and physical properties of surfaces affect microbes. Here, we explore the survival of a synthetic community of non-model microorganisms isolated from built environments following exposure to three chemically and physically distinct surface finishes. Our findings demonstrated the differences in bacterial survival associated with three chemically and physically distinct materials. Alkaline clay surfaces select for an alkaliphilic bacterium, Kocuria rosea, whereas acidic mold-resistant paint favors Bacillus timonensis, a Gram-negative spore-forming bacterium that also survives on antimicrobial surfaces after 24 hours of exposure. Additionally, antibiotic-resistant Pantoea allii did not exhibit prolonged retention on antimicrobial surfaces. Our controlled microcosm experiment integrates measurement of indoor chemistry and microbiology to elucidate the complex biochemical interactions that influence the indoor microbiome

Epigenetic transgenerational inheritance, gametogenesis and germline development

One of the most important developing cell types in any biological system is the gamete (sperm and egg). The transmission of phenotypes and optimally adapted physiology to subsequent generations is in large part controlled by gametogenesis. In contrast to genetics, the environment actively regulates epigenetics to impact the physiology and phenotype of cellular and biological systems. The integration of epigenetics and genetics is critical for all developmental biology systems at the cellular and organism level. The current review is focused on the role of epigenetics during gametogenesis for both the spermatogenesis system in the male and oogenesis system in the female. The developmental stages from the initial primordial germ cell through gametogenesis to the mature sperm and egg are presented. How environmental factors can influence the epigenetics of gametogenesis to impact the epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of phenotypic and physiological change in subsequent generations is reviewed.Summary sentenceHow environmental factors can influence the epigenetics of gametogenesis to impact the epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of phenotypic and physiological change in subsequent generations is reviewed

A Fuzzy-Based Approach for Identifying Candidate Business Processes for Socialization

© 2019 World Scientific Publishing Company. Social business processes support enterprises tap into the opportunities of Web 2.0. To ensure an efficient support, this paper presents an approach for identifying an enterprise\u27s business processes that could be converted into social. Indeed, not all processes are eligible for this conversion. The approach is built upon the concept of enterprise architecture that sheds the light on the necessary contextual elements for guiding the socialization of business processes. Due to the fuzzy nature of socialization, two multi-criteria decision making techniques, fuzzy logic and fuzzy-decision tree, enhance this guidance. A set of experiments for evaluating the proposed approach are presented in the paper, as well

Social Business Process Modeling

Capitalizing on Web 2.0 to improve communication and knowledge sharing among stakeholders, a new form of business processes (BP), called social business processes (SBP), has emerged. This chapter provides a social business process meta-model called SBP2M that enriches an existing business process meta-model with social aspect. It also proposes a domain-specific language (DSL) for SBP modeling. This DSL is defined based on SBP2M and developed as an extension of the standard BPMN notation. The proposed DSL is simple and yet generic thanks to the reduced number of extensions and its ability to model SBP regardless of the used Web 2.0 technology. To show the applicability of the proposed notation, the authors have implemented it within the BPMN2 modeler editor

Role of epigenetic transgenerational inheritance in generational toxicology

Many environmental toxicants have been shown to be associated with the transgenerational inheritance of increased disease susceptibility. This review describes the generational toxicity of some of these chemicals and their role in the induction of epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of disease. Epigenetic factors include DNA methylation, histone modifications, retention of histones in sperm, changes to chromatin structure, and expression of non-coding RNAs. For toxicant-induced epigenetic transgenerational inheritance to occur, exposure to a toxicant must result in epigenetic changes to germ cells (sperm or eggs) since it is the germ cells that carry molecular information to subsequent generations. In addition, the epigenetic changes induced in transgenerational generation animals must cause alterations in gene expression in these animals' somatic cells. In some cases of generational toxicology, negligible changes are seen in the directly exposed generations, but increased disease rates are seen in transgenerational descendants. Governmental policies regulating toxicant exposure should take generational effects into account. A new approach that takes into consideration generational toxicity will be needed to protect our future populations