Enterprise architecture for small and medium-sized enterprises

Enterprise architecture (EA) is used as a holistic approach to keep things aligned in a company. Some emphasize the use of EA to align IT with the business, others see it broader and use it to also keep the processes aligned with the strategy. Although a lot of research is being done on EA, still hardly anything is known about its use in the context of a small and medium sized enterprise (SME). Because of some specific characteristics of SMEs, it is interesting to look how EA can be applied in a SME. In this PhD, we present an approach for EA for SMEs, which combines four dimensions to get a holistic overview, while keeping things aligned. The approach is developed with special attention towards the characteristics of SMEs. Case studies are used to refine the metamodel and develop an adequate method, while tool support is being developed to enable the validation rounds

Enterprise architecture for small and medium-sized enterprises : CHOOSE

Enterprise architecture (EA) is a coherent whole of principles, methods, and models that are used in the design and realization of an enterprise’s organizational structure, business processes, information systems, and IT infrastructure. EA is used as a holistic approach to keep things aligned in a company. Some emphasize the use of EA to align IT with the business, others see it broader and use it to also keep the processes aligned with the strategy. Recent research indicates the need for EA in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), important drivers of the economy, as they struggle with problems related to a lack of structure and overview of their business. However, existing EA frameworks are perceived as too complex and, to date, none of the EA approaches are sufficiently adapted to the SME context. Therefore, in this PhD, we present the CHOOSE approach for EA for SMEs. The approach consists of four artifacts: a metamodel, a method, software tool support, and a visualization. The approach is kept simple so that it may be applied in an SME context and is based on the essential dimensions of EA frameworks. Five steps were taken: first, the problem of EA in SMEs was extensively analyzed. Next, the CHOOSE metamodel was developed during action research in SMEs. Then, action research in six companies was used to develop an adequate method (consisting of guidelines, a roadmap, and stop criteria) and to further refine this CHOOSE metamodel, while different types of software tools (PC, iPad, Android, ...) were developed to enable the evaluation rounds. Finally, a proper visualization was established

Bioactive compounds in leek (Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum): analysis as a function of the genetic diversity, harvest time and processing techniques

Leek (Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum) is one of the most important vegetables cultivated outdoors in Belgium. Besides their economic importance, they are a source of several bioactive or health-promoting compounds including 4 important chemical groups that have perceived benefits to human health, i.e. the S-alk(en)yl-L-cysteine sulfoxides (ACSOs), polyphenols, vitamins and fructans. Moreover, epidemiologic studies elucidated the reduction of the risk of prostate, colorectal, stomach and breast cancer when leek is consumed. On the one hand, the present study identified and quantified bioactive compounds in fresh leek for a range of leek cultivars and as a function of harvest time. On the other hand, the behaviour of these compounds was investigated during different processing/stabilisation techniques. Although leek is a popular vegetable in many European countries, the limited scientific knowledge concerning its health-promoting compounds is in sharp contrast with the well-documented health aspects of its related Allium species, i.e. onion, shallot, garlic. The objective of this PhD thesis was to develop knowledge on the presence of health-promoting compounds in leek in order to complement the many reports focusing on these compounds in related Allium species. On the basis of novel scientific knowledge on health-promoting compounds in leek obtained in the present study, the dissertation aims to stimulate innovation in leek breeding, production, marketing and the consumption pattern of leek. Chapter 1 included a general introduction and the objectives of the present study. Chapter 2 gave a brief summary concerning the current position of leek production in Belgium and abroad. Leek was described from two different angles: leek as a crop and leek as a food product. Moreover, the presence and properties of bioactive compounds was discussed in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 described the experimental design, including the selected plant material, the sampling procedure and further sample preparation for each experiment. The analytical and statistical methods were discussed in this chapter as well. In Chapter 4, statistically significant differences among 30 commercial and less common leek cultivars were discussed in terms of antioxidant capacity, polyphenols, ascorbate, ACSOs and fructan content. The antioxidant properties of the leek extracts were influenced by leek tissue (white shaft/green leaves) and type of cultivar (summer/autumn/winter type) to a large extent, whilst the manner of breeding (F1 hybrids/open pollinated) had no significant influence on the antioxidant properties. The green leaves of most cultivars contained a higher antioxidant capacity, ascorbate and polyphenol content, while the white shaft was rich in ACSOs and fructans. The dissimilarities between the three leek types could be explained by their genetic background, but because of their different harvest times, stress factors such as temperature, solar radiation, pathogens etc. to which the plants were subjected may also partly explain the different accumulation patterns of health-promoting compounds between the summer, autumn and winter leek. Therefore, Chapter 5 elucidated the effect of harvest time on the antioxidant properties in 9 F1 leek cultivars, harvested at 4 times during the leek growing season. Harvest time had a clear effect on antioxidant levels, in addition to the effect of cultivar. A clear distinction between harvest in September and harvest in November was observed, together with the difference between September/November and the other 2 months (January/March). Harvest in January or March resulted, for most of the cultivars and both parts, in a higher antioxidant capacity and polyphenol levels. Harvest in September had a positive influence on the ACSO content. Chapter 6 elucidated the difference between leek and some of its related Allium species with regard to the antioxidant properties. Based on the results, the antioxidant properties of the white shaft of leek were closely related to the antioxidant potential of the bulb of A. kurrat (Egyptian leek) and A. cepa (onion), while the green leaves of leek resembled the antioxidant profile of A. schoenoprasum (chives) and A. fistulosum (bunching onion). A. odorum (Chinese leek) and A. cepa (cv. Red Creole, red onion) were the species with different antioxidant properties compared to leek. These species were higher in methiin and flavonoid content, respectively. The evaluation of the impact of post-harvest storage and domestic food processing on the health benefits of vegetables is also of great practical importance and was demonstrated in Chapter 7 and Chapter 8, respectively. The antioxidant capacity was highly influenced by cooking but not by storage. In general, the antioxidant capacity and the total phenolic content in the white shaft and green leaves of the entire and packaged leek was stable during 13 days of storage at 4 °C. A slight increase in isoalliin level could be observed after a cool storage period. The difference between the antioxidant properties of the white shaft of the entire leek and the packaged leek was minimal, except for the lower ACSO values in packaged leek. An obvious increase could be observed in the antioxidant capacity of the steamed green leaves. Boiling had a negative effect on total phenolic content in the white shaft and green leaves. In contrast with boiling, steaming did not have an influence on the polyphenolic content. It is remarkable that blanching resulted in a slight increase in the ACSO content. Applying a longer-duration thermal treatment to leek samples negatively influenced the content of methiin and isoalliin. In general, steaming seemed to be responsible for a better retention of the bioactive compounds present in leek. The white shaft is used in many culinary applications, whereas the green leaves are considered inferior and are, therefore, usually only used in soups or even left behind on the fields or during processing. The application of 2 alternative value-adding valorisation methods, including lactic acid fermentation and drying, were therefore investigated in Chapter 9 with regard to the retention of the antioxidant properties. The results of Chapter 9 demonstrate the higher antioxidant capacity and polyphenol content upon fermentation especially in the green leaves. These results indicated the nutritional relevance of fermentation, which can be a promising stabilisation technique for leek. Fermentation does not require extensive materials and is an inexpensive way to stabilise and preserve plant material such as leek. Leek samples subjected to 3 drying methods retained their antioxidant capacity, with the exception of the higher ORAC value of air-dried green leaves and the higher DPPH value of the air-dried white shaft. Similarly, air-drying resulted in the highest total phenolic content compared with freeze-drying, while freeze-dried and refractance window dried samples exhibited equal amounts of polyphenols. The analysis of individual polyphenols revealed again that, air-dried samples contained higher quantities of polyphenols than freeze-dried leek, while freeze-dried leek exhibited higher levels of polyphenols compared to refractance window dried samples. Although air-drying was the best drying technique in retaining the antioxidant capacity and polyphenols, air-drying resulted in high losses of the ACSOs compared to freeze-drying. In fact, refractance window drying was the best drying technique to retain methiin. The present study revealed novel scientific knowledge on the content of health-promoting compounds in leek. This information can help to stimulate innovation in leek breeding, production, marketing and the consumption pattern of leek. In addition, the present study can give the onset to valorise the green leaves of leek, plant material which is rich in antioxidants

Enterprise architecture for small and medium sized enterprises

Enterprise architecture (EA) is used as a holistic approach to keep things aligned in a company. Some emphasize the use of EA to align IT with the business, others see it broader and use it to also keep the processes aligned with the strategy. EA has gained importance in larger companies. Although a lot of research is being done on EA, still hardly anything is known about its use in the context of a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME). Although EA can offer a lot of benefits to SMEs, still hardly any SME uses EA. In this paper, the authors analyze both SMEs and EA techniques and investigate the adoption of EA in SMEs. At the end of the chapter, some guidelines for EA technique developers are proposed

Integrating the semantics of events, processes and tasks across requirements engineering layers

Today, software should be more flexible, adaptable and more cost effective than ever before. There are indications that event-based architectures improve the flexibility, adaptability and cost effectiveness of software. Events are crucial concepts in event-based architectures, however, the concept of event has different interpretations in modeling techniques, which makes it difficult to integrate the use of different techniques during early and late requirements engineering. This paper outlines a PhD intended to develop an event-based requirements engineering methodology which supports the specification, development and verification of event-based systems. More specifically, this PhD strives to further develop the concept of event in requirements engineering and provide it with a formally defined semantics. The event concept is positioned with respect to existing concepts for modeling dynamic aspects of a system. A major goal is to keep the complexity of the modeling method at an acceptable level and enable a smooth transition of event-based architectures from requirements to implementation level. Finally, by performing an ontological analysis, using the BWW ontology and UFO, a set of orthogonal dimensions of the concept of event could be found

Effect of insulin on ultrastructure and glycogenesis in primary cultures of adult rat hepatocytes

Insulin in the presence of high concentrations of glucose has a beneficial trophic effect on the development of primary cultures of hepatocytes. Compared to the situation observed in hormone-free control cultures, the flattening of the reaggregated hepatocytes is enhanced, and the reconstituted cell trabeculae are enlarged and tend to form a confluent monolayer after 3 days; the survival time is prolonged from 3 to 5 or 6 days. Ultrastructural modifications are also initiated by insulin; numerous glycogen particles appear after 24 h, in between the cisternae of the proliferated smooth endoplasmic reticulum. After 48 h, large amounts of glycogen are stored, and numerous polysomes are present. A small number of cells showed an increased synthesis of lipid droplets in the lumen of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum and form liposomes at the same time. After 72 h, cytolysomes filled with glycogen develop, simulating glycogenosis type II. Simultaneously, microtubules and microfilaments, closely related to numerous polysomes, appear in cytoplasmic extensions constituting undulating membranes. The biochemical data demonstrate that, in the absence of insulin, a high concentration of glucose stimulates glycogenesis and hinders glycogenolysis. This effect of glucose on polysaccharide synthesis is progressively lost. The addition of insulin to the culture induces after 48 and 72 h, a three- to fivefold increase of the glucose incorporation into glycogen, as compared to the controls. The presence of insulin is required to maintain the hepatocyte's capacity to store glycogen. Glycogen synthetase is converted into its active form under the influence of glucose. Insulin increases the rate of activation

EASE is de architect voor het MKB

Midden- en kleinbedrijven nemen vaak niet de tijd om strategisch na te denken over de planning en richting van hun onderneming. EASE is een softwaretool die begeleiding en ondersteuning biedt: zo wijst enterprisearchitectuur ook in het MKB de weg naar succes

Nanopore sequencing as a revolutionary diagnostic tool for porcine viral enteric disease complexes identifies porcine kobuvirus as an important enteric virus

Enteric diseases in swine are often caused by different pathogens and thus metagenomics are a useful tool for diagnostics. The capacities of nanopore sequencing for viral diagnostics were investigated here. First, cell culture-grown porcine epidemic diarrhea virus and rotavirus A were pooled and sequenced on a MinION. Reads were already detected at 7 seconds after start of sequencing, resulting in high sequencing depths (19.2 to 103.5X) after 3 h. Next, diarrheic feces of a one-week-old piglet was analyzed. Almost all reads (99%) belonged to bacteriophages, which may have reshaped the piglet's microbiome. Contigs matched Bacteroides, Escherichia and Enterococcus phages. Moreover, porcine kobuvirus was discovered in the feces for the first time in Belgium. Suckling piglets shed kobuvirus from one week of age, but an association between peak of viral shedding (10(6.42)-10(7.01) copies/swab) and diarrheic signs was not observed during a follow-up study. Retrospective analysis showed the widespread (n = 25, 56.8% positive) of genetically moderately related kobuviruses among Belgian diarrheic piglets. MinION enables rapid detection of enteric viruses. Such new methodologies will change diagnostics, but more extensive validations should be conducted. The true enteric pathogenicity of porcine kobuvirus should be questioned, while its subclinical importance cannot be excluded

Challenging DESs and ILs in the valorization of food waste: a case study

In this study, the efficacy of two of the best performing green solvents for the fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass, cholinium arginate (ChArg) as biobased ionic liquid (Bio-IL) and ChCl:lactic acid (ChCl:LA, 1:10) as natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES), was investigated and compared in the pretreatment of an agri-food industry waste, apple fibers (90 degrees C for 1 h). For the sake of comparison, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (BMIM OAc) as one of the best IL able to dissolve cellulose was also used. After the pretreatment, two fractions were obtained in each case. The results gathered through FTIR and TG analyses of the two materials and the subsequent DNS assay performed after enzymatic treatment led to identify ChArg as the best medium to delignify and remove waxes, present on the starting apple fibers, thus producing a material substantially enriched in cellulose (CRM). Conversely, ChCl:LA did not provide satisfactorily results using these mild conditions, while BMIM OAc showed intermediate performance probably on account of the reduced crystallinity of cellulose after the dissolution-regeneration process. To corroborate the obtained data, FTIR and TG analyses were also performed on the residues collected after the enzymatic hydrolysis. At the end of the pretreatment, ChArg was also quantitatively recovered without significant alterations