Rewiring strategies for changing environments

A typical pervasive application executes in a changing environment: people, computing resources, software services and network connections come and go continuously. A robust pervasive application needs adapt to this changing context as long as there is an appropriate rewiring strategy that guarantees correct behavior. We combine the MERODE modeling methodology with the ReWiRe framework for creating interactive pervasive applications that can cope with changing environments. The core of our approach is a consistent environment model, which is essential to create (re)configurable context-aware pervasive applications. We aggregate different ontologies that provide the required semantics to describe almost any target environment. We present a case study that shows a interactive pervasive application for media access that incorporates parental control on media content and can migrate between devices. The application builds upon models of the run-time environment represented as system states for dedicated rewiring strategies

Bedrijfsmodellering: de sleutel tot de kwaliteit van informatiesystemen

Het ontwikkelen van kwalitatief hoogstaande informatiesystemen is verre van gemakkelijk. De kwaliteit van informatiesystemen begint bij de kwaliteit van de specificaties. In dit domein is er nog veel ruimte voor verbetering. In dit artikel illustreren we hoe bedrijfsmodellering kan bijdragen tot betere specificaties en tot betere informatiesystemen en tonen we aan wat de extra bijdrage is van de bedrijfsmodelleringsmethode MERODE. We tonen ook aan dat ook wanneer gekozen wordt om software aan te kopen, bedrijfsmodellering een nuttig instrument blijft.

Modeling the Dialogue Aspects of an Information System

In this paper we investigate techniques offered by current object-oriented development methods for the specification of the user-system dialogue aspect of a software system. Current development methods do not give very extensive guidelines on how to model this aspect and the available techniques need some refinement and elaboration to fit this particular task in the software specification process. The paper first compares a number of approaches. The common elements of these approaches are summarized and further developed into one comprehensive set of techniques that addresses the needs of functional requirements analysis

Intense human-animal interaction and limited capacity for the surveillance of zoonoses as drivers for Hepatitis E virus infections among animals and humans in Lao PDR

Purpose: In Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR), overlapping habitats of the population and livestock create a propitious environment for zoonoses. Insufficient hygienic measures in slaughterhouses and in rural settings further increase the risk for zoonotic transmission. Limited laboratory capacity as well as lack of background knowledge prevent timely control of disease oubreaks. Here, we assess the occurrence and transmission of Hepatits E virus (HEV), as well as public awareness of zoonoses. Methods & Materials: In 2015 and 2016, samples were collected from ruminants in rural areas (n=211), as well as from slaughterhouse workers (n=129) and slaughter pigs (n=290) in Lao PDR. Using commercial ELISAs, presence of antibodies (IgG, IgM and IgA) against HEV was assessed. Fecal shedding of HEV by animals was investigated using a generic real-time PCR. Detected viruses were characterized by Sanger sequencing if feasible. Using a standardized questionnaire, data on risk factors for zoonotic pathogen transmission and awareness on zoonoses were captured. Much emphasis was placed on collaborating with local actors and on strengthening laboratory capacities. Results: Anti-HEV antibodies were detected in 13% of ruminants in rural settings and in 46% of slaughter pigs. 7% of the ruminants and 2% of the pigs shed HEV that were thus far not characterizable. While anti-HEV antibody seroprevalence was of 33% in people exposed to pigs, only 15% of the non-exposed control group were seropositive (p= 0.001). Awareness of zoonoses among farmers and slaughterhouse workers was low. Wearing protective equipment was associated with a decrease in anti-HEV antibody detection (p=0.024). Limiting the consumption and use of groundwater and cooking of meat further reduced the risk for HEV infection in a domestic context. Conclusion: We could show that people who are exposed to livestock and pigs are at higher risk for contracting HEV than the general population. Although shedding rates were relatively low, animals may represent an infection source that can be controlled by applying personal protective equipment. Building the capacity for the detection and prevention of infectious diseases and increasing awareness about zoonoses in developing countries is a prerequisite for combating infectious disease outbreaks in future

Temperature dependent dynamic and static magnetic response in magnetic tunnel junctions with Permalloy layers

Ferromagnetic resonance and static magnetic properties of CoFe/Al2O3/CoFe/Py and CoFe/Al2O3/CoFeB/Py magnetic tunnel junctions and of 25nm thick single-layer Permalloy(Py) films have been studied as a function of temperature down to 2K. The temperature dependence of the ferromagnetic resonance excited in the Py layers in magnetic tunnel junctions shows knee-like enhancement of the resonance frequency accompanied by an anomaly in the magnetization near 60K. We attribute the anomalous static and dynamic magnetic response at low temperatures to interface stress induced magnetic reorientation transition at the Py interface which could be influenced by dipolar soft-hard layer coupling through the Al2O3 barrier

The Reasonableness of Argumentation from Expert Opinion in Medical Discussions: Institutional Safeguards for the Quality of Shared Decision Making

The ideal of shared decision making starts from the assumption that physicians and patients are able to take a joint decision as to what is the best treatment. However, since medical consultations are to be viewed as discussions between an expert and a layman, in practice it will often be the case that the patient has to rely on the physician’s expertise. In this article we examine the extent to which the Dutch laws, guidelines and professional conventions within the medical domain positively influence the quality of the process of shared decision making, even in cases where the physician makes use of an argument from expert opinion. To this end, we will chart some of the most important institutional safeguards for the quality of medical decisions and analyze how these safeguards relate to the critical questions associated with the argument scheme of argumentation from expert opinion

Polyphenol oxidase activity and colour changes of peeled potato (cv. Monalisa) in vacuum

Minimal processing of vegetables has some undesirable physiological consequences. The shelf life of peeled raw potatoes is limited by the onset of enzymatic browning at the cut surfaces. It is generally accepted that polyphenol oxidase (PPO) is the enzyme mainly responsible for this type of browning. This work aimed to study the effect of vacuum storage at 4°C on the colour, which is the main parameter limiting the shelf life of potato (cv. Monalisa). PPO activity was evaluated as well with the aim to investigate the relation with colour changes.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

High-resolution QTL mapping in Tetranychus urticae reveals acaricide-specific responses and common target-site resistance after selection by different METI-I acaricides

Arthropod herbivores cause dramatic crop losses, and frequent pesticide use has led to widespread resistance in numerous species. One such species, the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, is an extreme generalist herbivore and a major worldwide crop pest with a history of rapidly developing resistance to acaricides. Mitochondrial Electron Transport Inhibitors of complex I (METI-Is) have been used extensively in the last 25 years to control T. urticae around the globe, and widespread resistance to each has been documented. METI-I resistance mechanisms in T. urticae are likely complex, as increased metabolism by cytochrome P450 monooxygenases as well as a target-site mutation have been linked with resistance. To identify loci underlying resistance to the METI-I acaricides fenpyroximate, pyridaben and tebufenpyrad without prior hypotheses, we crossed a highly METI-I-resistant strain of T. urticae to a susceptible one, propagated many replicated populations over multiple generations with and without selection by each compound, and performed bulked segregant analysis genetic mapping. Our results showed that while the known H92R target-site mutation was associated with resistance to each compound, a genomic region that included cytochrome P450-reductase (CPR) was associated with resistance to pyridaben and tebufenpyrad. Within CPR, a single nonsynonymous variant distinguished the resistant strain from the sensitive one. Furthermore, a genomic region linked with tebufenpyrad resistance harbored a non-canonical member of the nuclear hormone receptor 96 (NHR96) gene family. This NHR96 gene does not encode a DNA-binding domain (DBD), an uncommon feature in arthropods, and belongs to an expanded family of 47 NHR96 proteins lacking DBDs in T. urticae. Our findings suggest that although cross-resistance to METI-Is involves known detoxification pathways, structural differences in METI-I acaricides have also resulted in resistance mechanisms that are compound-specific