Semantic Model Alignment for Business Process Integration

Business process models describe an enterprise’s way of conducting business and in this form the basis for shaping the organization and engineering the appropriate supporting or even enabling IT. Thereby, a major task in working with models is their analysis and comparison for the purpose of aligning them. As models can differ semantically not only concerning the modeling languages used, but even more so in the way in which the natural language for labeling the model elements has been applied, the correct identification of the intended meaning of a legacy model is a non-trivial task that thus far has only been solved by humans. In particular at the time of reorganizations, the set-up of B2B-collaborations or mergers and acquisitions the semantic analysis of models of different origin that need to be consolidated is a manual effort that is not only tedious and error-prone but also time consuming and costly and often even repetitive. For facilitating automation of this task by means of IT, in this thesis the new method of Semantic Model Alignment is presented. Its application enables to extract and formalize the semantics of models for relating them based on the modeling language used and determining similarities based on the natural language used in model element labels. The resulting alignment supports model-based semantic business process integration. The research conducted is based on a design-science oriented approach and the method developed has been created together with all its enabling artifacts. These results have been published as the research progressed and are presented here in this thesis based on a selection of peer reviewed publications comprehensively describing the various aspects

The Dual Imperative of Digital Transformers – The Relationship between a Firm\u27s Digital Orientation and Innovation Ambidexterity

The disruptive power of digitalization has called into question how we think and theorize about innovation management in a digital context. To thrive in a digital world, companies need to increasingly follow the dual imperative of constantly reinventing themselves while simultaneously refining current viability, that is, achieve innovation ambidexterity. Complementing research that has theorized digitalization as context or outcome of such ambidexterity, we study how a firm’s digital orientation (DO), a strategic posture aimed at realizing vital gains from digital technologies, can function as a driver for resolving the tensions of this dual imperative. In addition, we analyze the roles of absorptive capacity (ACAP) and market turbulence as contingency factors for this relationship. In deriving our hypotheses, we rely on the resource-based view (RBV) and extend our theorizing by building on the dynamic capabilities view. Our research model is empirically tested through multi- industry survey data obtained from 1,474 German firms

Bioelectronic Systems for Neurosensing Enabled by Graphene

Taking long-term electrical measurements of a large number of neurons simultaneously is required for many modern neuroscience experiments. However, such experiments are currently limited by the shortcomings of traditional neurosensing technology. For example, there is a significant mechanical mismatch between rigid silicon probes and soft biological tissues. This mismatch can lead to tissue damage upon probe insertion and formation of scar tissue around the recording sites. The scarring, as well as the migration of salts from biological fluids into silicon electronics, diminishes the recording ability of the sensors over time. Additionally, traditional passive electrodes require one wire for every recording site. To reach the range of thousands of simultaneous measurements, the number of wires necessary to connect the implanted sensors to the external electronics is not feasible. Recently, nanomaterials have been explored for next-generation neural probes. Nanomaterials have unique properties that can be utilized in novel neurosensor designs that can address the previously mentioned limitations. Graphene is a nanomaterial that is well-suited for building neurosensors due to its biocompatibility, mechanical flexibility, and good electrical properties. Furthermore, prior research has shown graphene field-effect transistors can measure action potentials of in-vivo and in-vitro neurons. We investigate unique uses for graphene field-effect transistors (FETs) in neurosensing applications. We first show that the noise in our devices is low enough to detect neuronal signals. The effective gate voltage noise for our best device is ~170 VRMS for a 20 m x 40 m device, which is about a factor of 5 larger than the noise for state-of-the-art graphene FETs when normalized for area. Improvements in noise were achieved with anti-aliasing filters and, to a lesser extent, fabrication techniques like sandwich contacts and annealing. Next, we developed an array of graphene FETs with multiplexing (wire sharing) for taking simultaneous measurements of many neurons. A twin-liquid-gate wafer with 1x2 test arrays of graphene FETs was fabricated, and 1 kHz signals were successfully reconstructed after multiplexing. A spacing of 10 kHz between carrier frequencies was used. The reconstructed signals from the multiplexed current were compared to signals from DC measurements; the multiplexing and reconstruction processes did not reduce signal size or increase noise. The crosstalk between channels was tested and found to be negligible. Based on the performance of our prototype devices, we argue that this is a scalable technology that be used to operate arrays of more than 2000 sensors with fewer than 100 input/output wires. We interfaced our graphene FET array with a custom integrated circuit chip that amplifies and digitizes the multiplexed signals. Then we show that our graphene FETs are capable of measuring action potentials from single cells in-vitro. A signal-to-noise ratio of up to 20 was achieved when cells were cultured on top of the graphene FET. We developed a procedure to release graphene FETs from the substrate and then place the released graphene devices on individual cells for targeted single-neuron measurements. No electrical signals were observed, and we speculate that this was due either to cell injury upon contact, migration of ion channels away from the sensor channel, or too much distance between the cell membrane and the sensor channel. The distance between the cell membrane and the graphene channel of a lowered device was estimated using fluorescence techniques and in conjunction with the electrical data, we estimate that the distance was > 30 nm

Bioelectrochemical investigations of aryl-alcohol oxidase from Pleurotus eryngii

Article in PressAryl-alcohol oxidase (AAO) electrochemistry studies, using graphite-modified electrodes, are presented for the first time herein. The increase in current upon injection of the analyzed substrate was shown to be approximated by Michaelis–Menten type dependence. The calculated kinetic constants were used to characterize the native (non-mutated) recombinant AAO expressed in Escherichia coli, as well as the native enzyme and the F501Y and F501A variants expressed in Emericella nidulans. Results from cyclic voltammetry experiments conducted with the enzymes adsorbed on graphite electrodes or with the enzymes in solution (using glassy carbon electrode as working electrode) gave information on the redox potential of these enzymes

dexesESC: Development and EXpansion of Existing Services Associated with the EUROPEAN STUDENT CARD, EUt+ Sofia Week, 18-10 January, 2023

THE EUROPEAN STUDENT CARD INITIATIVE An initiative to help students and higher education institutions on Erasmus+ exchanges by simplifying administrative processes and enhancing digitalisation. It is also crucial to promoting student participation in educational and cultural activities in line with the vision to create a European Education Area by 2025

Influence of production variables and starting material on charcoal stable isotopic and molecular characteristics

We present a systematic study on the effect of starting species, gas composition, temperature, particle size and duration of heating upon the molecular and stable isotope composition of high density (mangrove) and low density (pine) wood. In both pine and mangrove, charcoal was depleted in o13C relative to the starting wood by up to 1.6% and 0.8%, respectively. This is attributed predominantly to the progressive loss of isotopically heavier polysaccharides, and kinetic effects of aromatization during heating. However, the pattern of o13C change was dependant upon both starting species and atmosphere, with different structural changes associated with charcoal production from each wood type elucidated by Solid-State o13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. These are particularly evident at lower temperatures, where variation in the oxygen content of the production atmosphere results in differences in the thermal degradation of cellulose and lignin. It is concluded that production of charcoal from separate species in identical conditions, or from a single sample exposed to different production variables, can result in significantly different o13C of the resulting material, relative to the initial wood. These results have implications for the use of charcoal isotope composition to infer past environmental change

Matrix-free hydrodynamic study on the size distribution and conformation of three technical lignins from wood and non-wood

Molecular weight (MW) and related conformational data of three commercially available technical lignins (Alcell L, kraft L, and soda L) have been studied by means of analytical ultracentrifugation, taking advantage of some recent developments in both sedimentation velocity and sedimentation equilibrium determinations. The lignins were dissolved in dimethyl sulphoxide (with ca. 90% solubility), and solutions were studied with regards to their oligomeric state, heterogeneity profiles (distribution of sedimentation coefficients), and molecular weight distributions (MWD). Alcell L and soda L have similar properties showing one major low MW component and two minor high MW components, whereas kraft L appears to be larger and more uniform, i.e., it shows a more monodisperse MWD. Weight average molecular weight (Mw) data from sedimentation equilibrium obtained by the new SEDFIT-MSTAR procedure in conjunction with MULTISIG analysis were found to be ~18 kDa (Alcell L), 25 kDa (kraft L), and 15 kDa (soda L). Further analysis of the data by means of the routines MULTISIG and M_INVEQ confirmed the presence of additional components in Alcell L and soda L, and the larger size and high degree of monodispersity of kraft L. The intrinsic viscosity data of the three lignins were found to be very similar in the range of 22–24 ml g-1, and all data were consistent with an elongated plate shape molecular structure with an equivalent discoid aspect ratio ~30

Thermal properties of residual agroforestry biomass of Northern Portugal

Biomass from forestry and agricultural sector provides an important contribution to encounter the government’s targets for increasing bioenergy production and utilization. Characterization of agricultural and forest wastes are critical for exploiting and utilizing them for energy purpose. In the present work agricultural and forest wastes and shrubs were sampled in two sites in north Portugal (Ave and Sabor basin) and subjected to Higher Heating Value (HHV) and chemical composition quantification. The HHV was evaluated according to the methodology described in Standard DD CEN/TS14918:2005. For the lignin content, the procedure was made by the Klason method and the extractives content was determined with the Soxhlet method. For agricultural and forest wastes the HHV values are identical with a range of 17 to 21 MJ kg-1. However, shrubs biomass presentx slightly higher and statistically di erent values from agricultural and forest wastes, varying between 19 and 21 MJ kg-1. Forest wastes contain higher levels of holocellulose compared to agricultural wastes and, with respect to extractive contents, this trend is the reverse. There is a general tendency for the woody components present thermo-chemical properties more suited for energy purposes, than the residues formed by the branches and leavesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cellulosic films obtained from the treatment of sugarcane bagasse fibers with N -methylmorpholine- N -oxide (NMMO)

Ethanol/water organosolv pulping was used to obtain sugarcane bagasse pulp that was bleached with sodium chlorite. This bleached pulp was used to obtain cellulosic films that were further evaluated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A good film formation was observed when temperature of 74 °C and baths of distilled water were used, which after FTIR, TGA, and SEM analysis indicated no significant difference between the reaction times. The results showed this to be an interesting and promising process, combining the prerequisites for a more efficient utilization of agro-industrial residues.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), (CNPq), and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Brazil; Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) and CEMU