Enhancing Context Specifications for Dependable Adaptive Systems: A Data Mining Approach

Context: Adaptive systems are expected to cater for various operational contexts by having multiple strategies in achieving their objectives and the logic for matching strategies to an actual context. The prediction of relevant contexts at design time is paramount for dependability. With the current trend on using data mining to support the requirements engineering process, this task of understanding context for adaptive system at design time can benefit from such techniques as well. Objective: The objective is to provide a method to refine the specification of contextual variables and their relation to strategies for dependability. This refinement shall detect dependencies between such variables, priorities in monitoring them, and decide on their relevance in choosing the right strategy in a decision tree. Method: Our requirements-driven approach adopts the contextual goal modelling structure in addition to the operationalization values of sensed information to map contexts to the system’s behaviour. We propose a design time analysis process using a subset of data mining algorithms to extract a list of relevant contexts and their related variables, tasks, and/or goals. Results: We experimentally evaluated our proposal on a Body Sensor Network system (BSN), simulating 12 resources that could lead to a variability space of 4096 possible context conditions. Our approach was able to elicit subtle contexts that would significantly affect the service provided to assisted patients and relations between contexts, assisting the decision on their need, and priority in monitoring. Conclusion: The use of some data mining techniques can mitigate the lack of precise definition of contexts and their relation to system strategies for dependability. Our method is practical and supportive to traditional requirements specification methods, which typically require intense human intervention

Centrality anomalies in complex networks as a result of model over-simplification

Tremendous advances have been made in our understanding of the properties and evolution of complex networks. These advances were initially driven by information-poor empirical networks and theoretical analysis of unweighted and undirected graphs. Recently, information-rich empirical data complex networks supported the development of more sophisticated models that include edge directionality and weight properties, and multiple layers. Many studies still focus on unweighted undirected description of networks, prompting an essential question: how to identify when a model is simpler than it must be? Here, we argue that the presence of centrality anomalies in complex networks is a result of model over-simplification. Specifically, we investigate the well-known anomaly in betweenness centrality for transportation networks, according to which highly connected nodes are not necessarily the most central. Using a broad class of network models with weights and spatial constraints and four large data sets of transportation networks, we show that the unweighted projection of the structure of these networks can exhibit a significant fraction of anomalous nodes compared to a random null model. However, the weighted projection of these networks, compared with an appropriated null model, significantly reduces the fraction of anomalies observed, suggesting that centrality anomalies are a symptom of model over-simplification. Because lack of information-rich data is a common challenge when dealing with complex networks and can cause anomalies that misestimate the role of nodes in the system, we argue that sufficiently sophisticated models be used when anomalies are detected.Comment: 14 pages, including 9 figures. APS style. Accepted for publication in New Journal of Physic

A persona-based modelling for contextual requirements

[Context & Motivation] Personas are a technique used to guide developing products accommodating people diversity. They are archetypes reflecting common combinations of users’ characteristics, needs and goals. Persons can add a human-centred facet to requirements engineering practice which is often revolving around the concept of business roles. [Question/Problem] Goal modelling is an example of mainstream requirements engineering approach driven by business roles and their responsibilities and needs represented as goals. Personnel in the system are expected to act according to this prescriptive specification. Personnel diversity is often seen as a customization and design issue. [Principal idea/Results]. In this paper we propose to consider such diversity as a conditional context in requirements modelling and, as an approach, augment Contextual Goal Model (CGM) with personas as a new contextual dimension. Additionally, we propose an algorithm to analyse the achievability of CGM goals in the presence of the personas contexts variation. We evaluate our approach using a Mobile Personal Emergency Response System (MPERS) implemented as a prototype. [Contribution] Our persona-based modelling approach paves the way to augment requirements with a consideration of people diversity and enrich the business perspective with a more user-centred design facet

Genetic analysis of members of the species Oropouche virus and identification of a novel M segment sequence

Oropouche virus (OROV) is a public health threat in South America, and in particular Northern Brazil, causing frequent outbreaks of febrile illness. Using a combination of deep sequencing and Sanger sequencing approaches we have determined complete genome sequences of eight clinical isolates that were obtained from patient sera during an Oropouche fever outbreak in Amapa state, northern Brazil in 2009. We also report complete genome sequences of two OROV reassortants isolated from two marmosets in Minas Gerais state, southeast Brazil in 2012 that contain a novel M genome segment. Interestingly, all ten isolates posses a 947 nucleotide long S segment that lacks 11 residues in the S segment 3' UTR compared to the recently redetermined Brazilian prototype OROV strain BeAn19991. OROV maybe circulating more widely in Brazil and in the non-human primate population than previously appreciated and the identification of yet another reassortant highlights the importance of bunyavirus surveillance in South America

Inseticidas para controle da mosca-branca (Bemisia tabaci, biótipo B) e redução da transmissão de begomovírus ao tomateiro.

Este trabalho tem como objetivos avaliar a eficiencia de inseticidas químicos sintéticos no controle de adultos de mosca-branca e determinar seu potencial de interferencia na transmissão do begomovirus ao tomateiro

Chemical and biological evaluation of rejects from the wood industry.

Este estudo visa a caracterização química e a avaliação da atividade antimicrobiana de extratos obtidos a partir de rejeitos resultantes do beneficiamento de madeiras nobres comercializadas no Paraná: Peroba-Rosa (Aspidosperma sp.), Roxinho (Peltogyne sp.), Jatobá (Hymenaea sp.), Curupixá (Micropholis sp.), Itaúba (Mezilaurus sp.), Cedrilho (Erisma sp.) e Imbúia-do-Norte (Licaria sp.), cujas identificações botânicas basearam-se em estudos anatômicos. Os extratos foram preparados com diversos solventes, analisados por CCD e espectrometria UV/VIS, testando-se contra: Proteus mirabilis ATCC15290, Escherichia coli ATCC25922, Enterobacter aerogenes ATCC13048, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923, Micrococcus luteus ATCC9341, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC13883, Pseudomonas aeroginosa ATCC27853, e Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans e Bacillus cereus isolados da clínica. O extrato etanólico de Peroba-Rosa, contendo alcalóides, apresentou atividade contra P. mirabilis. Os extratos metanólicos do Jatobá, Itaúba e Imbúia, contendo fenóis, e o extrato de Roxinho obtido com acetato de etila contendo fenóis e terpenóides, foram ativos contra K. pneumoniae, M. luteus, E. coli, S. aureus e P. mirabilis. Nenhum dos extratos foi ativo contra P. aeroginosa, S. mutans e E. aerogenes

Are olive pomace powders a safe source of bioactives and nutrients?

"First published: 10 September 2020"BACKGROUND Olive oil industry generates significant amounts of semi-solid wastes, namely the olive pomace. Olive pomace is a by-product rich in high-value compounds (e.g. dietary fibre, unsaturated fatty acids, polyphenols) widely explored to obtain new food ingredients. However, conventional extraction methods frequently use organic solvents, while novel eco-friendly techniques have high operational costs. The development of powdered products without any extraction step has been proposed as a more feasible and sustainable approach. RESULTS The present study fractionated and valorised the liquid and pulp fraction of olive pomace obtaining two stable and safe powdered ingredients, namely a liquid-enriched powder (LOPP) and a pulp-enriched powder (POPP). These powders were characterized chemically, and their bioactivity was assessed. LOPP exhibited a significant amount of mannitol (141 g/ kg), potassium (54 g/ kg) and hydroxytyrosol/ derivatives (5 mg/g). POPP exhibited high amount of dietary fibre (620 g/ kg) associated to significant amount of bound phenolics (7.41 mg GAE/ g fibre DW) with substantial antioxidant activity. POPP also contained an unsaturated fatty acids composition similar to olive oil (76\% of total fatty acids) and showed potential as a reasonable source of protein (12 \%). Their functional properties (solubility, water-holding and oil-holding capacity), antioxidant capacity and antimicrobial activity were also assessed, and their biological safety was verified. CONCLUSION The development of olive pomace powders to apply in the food industry could be a suitable strategy to add-value to olive pomace and obtain safe multifunctional ingredients with higher health-promoting effects than dietary fibre and polyphenols itself. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.TBR thanks the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal for PhD grant SFRH/BDE/108271/2015 and the financial support of Association BLC3 – Technology and Innovation Campus. This work was supported by National Funds from FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia through the project MULTIBIOREFINERY – SAICTPAC/0040/2015 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016403). We are also grateful for the scientific collaboration under the FCT project UID/Multi/50016/2019.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Results From the Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases Cohort Study 3

Introduction: The public health problem of food insecurity also affects the elderly population. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of household food insecurity and its associations with chronic disease and health-related quality of life characteristics in individuals ≥65 years of age living in the community in Portugal. Methods: The data were collected from the Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases Cohort Study 3 (EpiDoC3)-Promoting Food Security Study (2015-2016), which was the third evaluation wave of the EpiDoC and represented the Portuguese adult population. Food insecurity was assessed using a psychometric scale adapted from the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale. The data on sociodemographic variables, chronic disease, and management of chronic disease were self-reported. Health-related quality of life were assessed using the European Quality of Life Survey (version validated for the Portuguese population). Logistic regression models were used to determine crude and adjusted odds ratios (for age group, gender, region, and education). The dependent variable was the perceived level of food security. Results: Among older adults, 23% were living in a food-insecure household. The odds of living in a food-insecure household were higher for individuals in the 70-74 years age group (odds ratio (OR) = 1.405, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.392-1.417), females (OR = 1.545, 95% CI 1.534-1.556), those with less education (OR = 3.355, 95% CI 3.306-3.404), low income (OR = 4,150, 95% CI 4.091-4.210), and those reporting it was very difficult to live with the current income (OR = 16.665, 95% CI 16.482-16.851). The odds of having a chronic disease were also greater among individuals living in food-insecure households: diabetes mellitus (OR = 1.832, 95% CI 1.818-1.846), pulmonary diseases (OR = 1.628, 95% CI 1.606-1.651), cardiac disease (OR = 1.329, 95% CI 1.319-1.340), obesity (OR = 1.493, 95% CI 1.477-1.508), those who reduced their frequency of medical visits (OR = 4.381, 95% CI 4.334-4.428), and who stopped taking medication due to economic difficulties (OR = 5.477, 95% CI 5.422-5.532). Older adults in food-insecure households had lower health-related quality of life (OR = 0.212, 95% CI 0.210-0.214). Conclusions: Our findings indicated that food insecurity was significantly associated with economic factors, higher values for prevalence of chronic diseases, poor management of chronic diseases, and decreased health-related quality of life in older adults living in the community.publishersversionpublishe