A transformation-based approach to business process management in the cloud

Business Process Management (BPM) has gained a lot of popularity in the last two decades, since it allows organizations to manage and optimize their business processes. However, purchasing a BPM system can be an expensive investment for a company, since not only the software itself needs to be purchased, but also hardware is required on which the process engine should run, and personnel need to be hired or allocated for setting up and maintaining the hardware and the software. Cloud computing gives its users the opportunity of using computing resources in a pay-per-use manner, and perceiving these resources as unlimited. Therefore, the application of cloud computing technologies to BPM can be extremely beneficial specially for small and middle-size companies. Nevertheless, the fear of losing or exposing sensitive data by placing these data in the cloud is one of the biggest obstacles to the deployment of cloud-based solutions in organizations nowadays. In this paper we introduce a transformation-based approach that allows companies to control the parts of their business processes that should be allocated to their own premises and to the cloud, to avoid unwanted exposure of confidential data and to profit from the high performance of cloud environments. In our approach, the user annotates activities and data that should be placed in the cloud or on-premise, and an automated transformation generates the process fragments for cloud and on-premise deployment. The paper discusses the challenges of developing the transformation and presents a case study that demonstrates the applicability of the approach

Brain tissue segmentation using q-entropy in multiple sclerosis magnetic resonance images

The loss of brain volume has been used as a marker of tissue destruction and can be used as an index of the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis. In the present study, we tested a new method for tissue segmentation based on pixel intensity threshold using generalized Tsallis entropy to determine a statistical segmentation parameter for each single class of brain tissue. We compared the performance of this method using a range of different q parameters and found a different optimal q parameter for white matter, gray matter, and cerebrospinal fluid. Our results support the conclusion that the differences in structural correlations and scale invariant similarities present in each tissue class can be accessed by generalized Tsallis entropy, obtaining the intensity limits for these tissue class separations. In order to test this method, we used it for analysis of brain magnetic resonance images of 43 patients and 10 healthy controls matched for gender and age. The values found for the entropic q index were 0.2 for cerebrospinal fluid, 0.1 for white matter and 1.5 for gray matter. With this algorithm, we could detect an annual loss of 0.98% for the patients, in agreement with literature data. Thus, we can conclude that the entropy of Tsallis adds advantages to the process of automatic target segmentation of tissue classes, which had not been demonstrated previously.Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)FAPESPCNP

Pharmaceutical removal from different water matrixes by Fenton process at near-neutral pH: Doehlert design and transformation products identification by UHPLC-QTOF MS using a purpose-built database

This work evaluates the Fenton process in the removal of eight pharmaceuticals (gemfibrozil, nimesulide, furosemide, paracetamol, propranolol, dipyrone, fluoxetine, and diazepam), present at an initial concentration of 500 μg L−1 for each compound, from three different water matrixes (distilled water, simulated wastewater, and hospital wastewater). The Fenton process conditions (iron and hydrogen peroxide concentrations, and pH) were optimized for the distilled water matrix by Doehlert design associated with response surface methodology. These corresponded to initial Fe2+ and hydrogen peroxide concentrations of 12.5 and 533 mg L−1, respectively, and pH 5.0. Mineralization rates and pharmaceutical degradation were monitored for all water matrixes and different experimental conditions employed. Unique iron addition, using low (12.5 mg L−1) and increased concentrations (37.5 mg L−1) were evaluated. These preliminary results motivated the study of the Fenton process employing successive iron additions and using an excess of hydrogen peroxide in the reaction medium. Multiple iron addition favored higher oxidation of the initial contaminants. Finally, the most persistent transformation products generated during the Fenton process were identified by liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF MS) using a purpose-built database that allowed monitoring 97 transformation products in a single injection. In this study, 12 transformation products (TPs) were tentatively identified employing this purpose-built database. Most TPs generated were classified as of high toxicity (Cramer rules) and showed ready biodegradability (START biodegradability)

Tick-borne pathogens infecting dogs from a highland swamp area

RESUMO Objetivou-se neste estudo relatar a frequência e a identidade de patógenos transmitidos por carrapatos em cães residentes de uma área caracterizada por brejo de alta altitude. Amostras sanguíneas (n=203) foram coletadas e molecularmente analisadas via PCR (Babesia spp., Hepatozoon spp., Anaplasma spp. e Ehrlichia spp.) e sequenciamento de DNA. De todas as amostras analisadas, 8,87% (18/203) foram positivas a algum patógeno transmitido por carrapato. Especificamente, 5,42% (11/203) e 3,45% (7/203) foram positivos a Anaplasma platys e Ehrlichia canis, respectivamente. Este estudo fornece, pela primeira vez, evidência científica de infecção de cães por esses patógenos nessa área de alta altitude e reforça o provável papel de R. sanguineus s.l. como vetor de A. platys, principalmente considerando.se que muitos animais positivos eram infestados por essa espécie de carrapato