An ontological approach for recovering legacy business content

Legacy Information Systems (LIS) pose a challenge for many organizations. On one hand, LIS are viewed as aging systems needing replacement; on the other hand, years of accumulated business knowledge have made these systems mission-critical. Current approaches however are often criticized for being overtly dependent on technology and ignoring the business knowledge which resides within LIS. In this light, this paper proposes a means of capturing the business knowledge in a technology agnostic manner and transforming it in a way that reaps the benefits of clear semantic expression - this transformation is achieved via the careful use of ontology. The approach called Content Sophistication (CS) aims to provide a model of the business that more closely adheres to the semantics and relationships of objects existing in the real world. The approach is illustrated via an example taken from a case study concerning the renovation of a large financial system and the outcome of the approach results in technology agnostic models that show improvements along several dimensions

Macular Pigment and Visual Function in Patients With Glaucoma: The San Diego Macular Pigment Study.

PurposeAlthough recent studies have shown that macular pigment (MP) is significantly lower in glaucoma patients, this relationship merits further investigation.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 85 glaucoma patients and 22 controls. All subjects had standard automated perimetry (SAP) and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measurements. Intake of lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z) was estimated using a novel dietary screener. The Heidelberg Spectralis dual-wavelength autofluorescence (AF) technology was employed to study the relationship between MP and glaucoma. The association between MP volume and glaucoma was investigated using linear regression models accounting for potential confounding factors.ResultsGlaucoma patients had significantly worse SAP mean deviation (MD) and lower RNFL thickness in the study eye compared to control subjects (P < 0.001 for both). MP (volume) was comparable between groups (P = 0.436). In the univariable model, diagnosis of glaucoma was not associated with MP volume (R2 = 1.22%; P = 0.257). Dietary intake of L and Z was positively and significantly related to MP in the univariable (P = 0.022) and multivariable (P = 0.020) models.ConclusionsThese results challenge previous studies that reported that glaucoma is associated with low MP. Dietary habits were found to be the main predictor of MP in this sample. Further research is merited to better understand the relationship between glaucoma, MP, and visual performance in these patients

Do best-selected strains perform table olive fermentation better than undefined biodiverse starters? A comparative study

Twenty-seven Lactobacillus pentosus strains, and the undefined starter for table olives from which they were isolated, were characterised for their technological properties: tolerance to low temperature, high salt concentration, alkaline pH, and olive leaf extract; acidifying ability; oleuropein degradation; hydrogen peroxide and lactic acid production. Two strains with appropriate technological properties were selected. Then, table olive fermentation in vats, with the original starter, the selected strains, and without starter (spontaneous fermentation) were compared. Starters affected some texture profile parameters. The undefined culture resulted in the most effective Enterobacteriaceae reduction, acidification and olive debittering, while the selected strains batch showed the lowest antioxidant activity. Our results show that the best candidate strains cannot guarantee better fermentation performance than the undefined biodiverse mix from which they originate

Fault diagnosis of wind turbine gearboxes through on-site measurements and vibrational signal processing

Condition monitoring of wind turbine gearboxes has attracted an impressive amount of attention in the wind energy literature. This happens for practical issues, as gearbox damages account for at least the 20% of wind turbines operational unavailability, and for scientific issues as well, because the condition monitoring of gear-based mechanical systems undergoing non-stationary operation is particularly challenging. The present work is devoted to the diagnosis of gearbox damages through a novel approach, designed exclusively for this study, based on on-site measurements and data post-processing. The main point of this method is the relatively easy repeatability, also for wind turbine practitioners, and its low impact on wind turbine operation: actually, the measuring site is not the gearbox itself, but the tower, further from the gearbox but in an easily accessible place. A real test case has been considered: a multi mega-watt wind turbine sited in Italy and owned by the Renvico company. The vibration measurements at the wind turbine suspected to be damaged and at a reference wind turbine are processed through a multivariate Novelty Detection algorithm in the feature space. The application of this algorithm is justified by univariate statistical tests on the time-domain features selected and by a visual inspection of the dataset via Principal Component Analysis. Finally, the novelty indices based on such time-domain features, computed from the accelerometric signals acquired inside the turbine tower, prove to be suitable to highlight a damaged condition in the wind-turbine gearbox, which can be then successfully monitored

Evaluación del riego por superficie mediante el uso de sensores en el Alto Valle del Río Negro y Neuquén

El Alto Valle de Rio Negro y Neuquén (AVRNyN) representa un área productiva que abarca los valles aluviales del bajo Neuquén, bajo Limay y alto rio Negro. Los métodos de riego más ampliamente utilizados en la zona son los de tipo gravitacional, por lo que planificar el riego es de suma importancia para lograr que el mismo sea suficiente, oportuno y uniforme. La finalidad de la planificación es conseguir la máxima eficiencia de utilización del agua agregada y el máximo retorno del dinero invertido, evitando la utilización excesiva de agua, que conduce a resultados económicos y ambientales desfavorables. La tecnificación del riego gravitacional o la utilización de tecnologías para su seguimiento es un paso de gran importancia para obtener mejores rendimientos en la producción. Un ejemplo de ello es la utilización de sensores para la determinación de la humedad del suelo en las áreas a irrigar. El objetivo del presente trabajo es evaluar la eficiencia de un riego realizado en una parcela frutícola ubicada en General Roca, Rio Negro durante el ciclo productivo 2019-2020, utilizando sensores para la determinación de las condiciones de humedad del suelo previas y posteriores al riego.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ