Analysis and Verification of Service Interaction Protocols - A Brief Survey

Modeling and analysis of interactions among services is a crucial issue in Service-Oriented Computing. Composing Web services is a complicated task which requires techniques and tools to verify that the new system will behave correctly. In this paper, we first overview some formal models proposed in the literature to describe services. Second, we give a brief survey of verification techniques that can be used to analyse services and their interaction. Last, we focus on the realizability and conformance of choreographies.Comment: In Proceedings TAV-WEB 2010, arXiv:1009.330

Arsenate Impact on the Metabolite Profile, Production, and Arsenic Loading of Xylem Sap in Cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.)

Arsenic uptake and translocation studies on xylem sap focus generally on the concentration and speciation of arsenic in the xylem. Arsenic impact on the xylem sap metabolite profile and its production during short term exposure has not been reported in detail. To investigate this, cucumbers were grown hydroponically and arsenate (AsV) and DMA were used for plant treatment for 24 h. Total arsenic and arsenic speciation in xylem sap was analyzed including a metabolite profiling under AsV stress. Produced xylem sap was quantified and absolute arsenic transported was determined. AsV exposure had a significant impact on the metabolite profile of xylem sap. Four m/z values corresponding to four compounds were up-regulated, one compound down-regulated by AsV exposure. The compound down-regulated was identified to be isoleucine. Furthermore, AsV exposure had a significant influence on sap production, leading to a reduction of up to 96% sap production when plants were exposed to 1000 μg kg−1 AsV. No difference to control plants was observed when plants were exposed to 1000 μg kg−1 DMA. Absolute arsenic amount in xylem sap was the lowest at high AsV exposure. These results show that AsV has a significant impact on the production and metabolite profile of xylem sap. The physiological importance of isoleucine needs further attention

Toward a better understanding of tool wear effect through a comparison between experiments and SPH numerical modelling of machining hard materials

The aim of this study is to improve the general understanding of tungsten carbide (WC–Co) tool wear under dry machining of the hard-to-cut titanium alloy Ti6Al4V. The chosen approach includes experimental and numerical tests. The experimental part is designed to identify wear mechanisms using cutting force measurements, scanning electron microscope observations and optical profilometer analysis. Machining tests were conducted in the orthogonal cutting framework and showed a strong evolution of the cutting forces and the chip profiles with tool wear. Then, a numerical method has been used in order to model the machining process with both new and worn tools. The use of smoothed particle hydrodynamics model (SPH model) as a numerical tool for a better understanding of the chip formation with worn tools is a key aspect of this work. The redicted chip morphology and the cutting force evolution with respect to the tool wear are qualitatively compared with experimental trends. The chip formation mechanisms during dry cutting process are shown to be quite dependent from the worn tool geometry. These mechanisms explain the high variation of the experimental and numerical feed force between new and worn tools

Tau Be or not Tau Be? - A Perspective on Service Compatibility and Substitutability

One of the main open research issues in Service Oriented Computing is to propose automated techniques to analyse service interfaces. A first problem, called compatibility, aims at determining whether a set of services (two in this paper) can be composed together and interact with each other as expected. Another related problem is to check the substitutability of one service with another. These problems are especially difficult when behavioural descriptions (i.e., message calls and their ordering) are taken into account in service interfaces. Interfaces should capture as faithfully as possible the service behaviour to make their automated analysis possible while not exhibiting implementation details. In this position paper, we choose Labelled Transition Systems to specify the behavioural part of service interfaces. In particular, we show that internal behaviours (tau transitions) are necessary in these transition systems in order to detect subtle errors that may occur when composing a set of services together. We also show that tau transitions should be handled differently in the compatibility and substitutability problem: the former problem requires to check if the compatibility is preserved every time a tau transition is traversed in one interface, whereas the latter requires a precise analysis of tau branchings in order to make the substitution preserve the properties (e.g., a compatibility notion) which were ensured before replacement.Comment: In Proceedings WCSI 2010, arXiv:1010.233

Formalizing Adaptation On-the-Fly

AbstractParadigm models specify coordination of collaborating components via constraint control. Component McPal allows for later addition of new constraints and new control in view of unforeseen adaptation. After addition McPal starts coordinating migration accordingly, adapting the system towards to-be collaboration. Once done, McPal removes obsolete control and constraints. All coordination remains ongoing while migrating on-the-fly, being deflected without any quiescence. Through translation into process algebra, supporting formal analysis is arranged carefully, showing that as-is and to-be processes are proper abstractions of the migrating process. A canonical critical section problem illustrates the approach

IN VIVO CONFOCAL MICROENDOSCOPY: FROM THE PROXIMAL BRONCHUS DOWN TO THE PULMONARY ACINUS

In vivo endoscopic microscopy aims to provide the clinician with a tool to assess architecture and morphology of a living tissue in real time, with an optical resolution similar to standard histopathology. To date, available microendoscopic devices use the principle of fluorescence confocal microscopy, and thereby mainly analyse the spatial distribution of specific endogenous or exogenous fluorophores. Fluorescence microendoscopes devoted to respiratory system exploration use a bundle of optical fibres, introduced into the working channel of the bron- choscope. This miniprobe can be applied in vivo onto the bronchial inner surface or advanced into a distal bron- chiole down to the acinus, to produce in situ, in vivo microscopic imaging of the respiratory tract in real time. Fluorescence confocal microendoscopy has the capability to image the epithelial and subepithelial layers of the pro- ximal bronchial tree, as well as the more distal parts of the lungs, from the terminal bronchioles down to the alveolar ducts and sacs. Potential applications include in vivo microscopic assessment of early bronchial cancers, bronchial wall remodelling evaluation and diffuse peripheral lung disease exploration, as well as in vivo diagnosis of peripheral lung nodules. The technique has also the potential to be coupled with fluorescence molecular imaging. This chapter de- scribes the capabilities and possible limitations of confocal microendoscopy for proximal and distal lung exploration

Implementing Distributed Controllers for Systems with Priorities

Implementing a component-based system in a distributed way so that it ensures some global constraints is a challenging problem. We consider here abstract specifications consisting of a composition of components and a controller given in the form of a set of interactions and a priority order amongst them. In the context of distributed systems, such a controller must be executed in a distributed fashion while still respecting the global constraints imposed by interactions and priorities. We present in this paper an implementation of an algorithm that allows a distributed execution of systems with (binary) interactions and priorities. We also present a comprehensive simulation analysis that shows how sensitive to changes our algorithm is, in particular changes related to the degree of conflict in the system.Comment: In Proceedings FOCLASA 2010, arXiv:1007.499

Explicit connection actions in multiparty session types

This work extends asynchronous multiparty session types (MPST) with explicit connection actions to support protocols with op- tional and dynamic participants. The actions by which endpoints are connected and disconnected are a key element of real-world protocols that is not treated in existing MPST works. In addition, the use cases motivating explicit connections often require a more relaxed form of mul- tiparty choice: these extensions do not satisfy the conservative restric- tions used to ensure safety in standard syntactic MPST. Instead, we de- velop a modelling-based approach to validate MPST safety and progress for these enriched protocols. We present a toolchain implementation, for distributed programming based on our extended MPST in Java, and a core formalism, demonstrating the soundness of our approach. We discuss key implementation issues related to the proposed extensions: a practi- cal treatment of choice subtyping for MPST progress, and multiparty correlation of dynamic binary connections

DFT study of pressure induced phase transitions in LiYF4

An investigation of the pressure induced phase transition from the scheelite phase (I41/a, Z=4) to the fergusonite-like phase (I2/a, Z=4)/LaTaO(P21/c, Z=4) of LiYF4 is presented. Employing density functional theory (DFT) within the generalized gradient approximation, the internal degrees of freedom were relaxed for a pressure range of 0 GPa to 20 Gpa. The influence of pressure on the lattice vibration spectrum of the scheelite phase (I41/a, Z=4) was evaluated using the direct approach, i.e. using force constants calculated from atomic displacements. The transition volume is in good agreement with experiment, while the transition pressure is overestimated of 6 GPa. At 20 GPa, a P21/c structure with apentacoordinated lithium cation is found to be the most stable phase. This structure is compatible with a transition driven by a Bg zone-center soft optic mode linked to a soft-acoustic mode along the [11-1] direction as observed for the proper ferroelastic transition of BiVO4

Low-cost electrochemical detection of arsenic in the groundwater of Guanajuato state, central Mexico using an open-source potentiostat

Arsenic is a carcinogenic groundwater contaminant that is toxic even at the parts-per-billion (ppb) level and its on-site determination remains challenging. Colorimetric test strips, though cheap and widely used, often fail to give reliable quantitative data. On the other hand, electrochemical detection is sensitive and accurate but considerably more expensive at the onset. Here, we present a study on arsenic detection in groundwater using a low-cost, open-source potentiostat based on Arduino technology. We tested different types of gold electrodes (screen-printed and microwire) with anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV), achieving low detection limits (0.7 μg L-1). In a study of arsenic contaminated groundwaters in Mexico, the microwire technique provides greater accuracy than test strips (reducing the median error from -50% to +2.9%) and greater precision (reducing uncertainties from ±25% to ±4.9%). Most importantly, the rate of false negatives versus the World Health Organisation’s 10 μg L-1 limit was reduced from 50% to 0% (N = 13 samples). Arsenic determination using open-source potentiostats may offer a low-cost option for research groups and NGOs wishing to perform arsenic analysis in-house, yielding superior quantitative data than the more widely used colorimetric test strips