Towards Cleaning-up Open Data Portals: A Metadata Reconciliation Approach

This paper presents an approach for metadata reconciliation, curation and linking for Open Governamental Data Portals (ODPs). ODPs have been lately the standard solution for governments willing to put their public data available for the society. Portal managers use several types of metadata to organize the datasets, one of the most important ones being the tags. However, the tagging process is subject to many problems, such as synonyms, ambiguity or incoherence, among others. As our empiric analysis of ODPs shows, these issues are currently prevalent in most ODPs and effectively hinders the reuse of Open Data. In order to address these problems, we develop and implement an approach for tag reconciliation in Open Data Portals, encompassing local actions related to individual portals, and global actions for adding a semantic metadata layer above individual portals. The local part aims to enhance the quality of tags in a single portal, and the global part is meant to interlink ODPs by establishing relations between tags.Comment: 8 pages,10 Figures - Under Revision for ICSC201

Cerebral and cardiovascular effects of analgesic doses of ketamine during a target controlled general anesthesia: a prospective randomized study

Introduction: Ketamine is increasingly being used in various pain settings. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of an analgesic dose of ketamine in the bispectral index (BIS), spectral edge frequency (SEF-95), density spectral array (DSA), cerebral oximetry (rSO2) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) during general anaesthesia with a target controlled infusion. Methods: A prospective, single-blinded and randomized study on adult patients scheduled for elective spine surgery was carried out. After anaesthesia induction with propofol, remifentanil and rocuronium, when a stable BIS value (45-55) was achieved, an automatic recording of BIS, SEF-95, rSO2 and MAP values during 9 min was performed to establish patients baseline values. Subsequently, patients were randomly assigned to receive a ketamine bolus dose of 0.2 mg/kg, 0.5 mg/kg or 1 mg/kg; all variables were recorded for additional 9 min after the ketamine bolus, in the absence of any surgical stimulus. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant in the statistical analysis. Results and discussion: Thirty-nine patients were enrolled in the study. Our results show a dose-related increase of SEF-95 and BIS values. DSA demonstrate a shift in the frequency range and power distribution towards higher frequencies. Our results do not show significant differences in MAP and rSO2 values. Conclusion: When ketamine is used intraoperatively in analgesic doses, the anaesthetist should anticipate an increase in SEF-95 and BIS values which will not be associated with the level of anaesthesia.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Towards the integration of user interface prototyping and model-based development

The main objective of this paper is to make a contribution in the automation of web applications’ development, starting from prototypes of their graphical user interfaces. Due to the exponential increase in the use of internet-based services and applications, there is an also increasing demand for Web designers and developers. At the same time, the proliferation of languages, frameworks and libraries illustrates the current state of immaturity of web development technologies. This state of affairs creates difficulties in the development and maintenance of Web applications. In this paper, we argue that integrating concepts of modelbased user interface development with the more traditional usercentred design approach to development can provide an answer to this situation. An approach is presented that allows designers to use prototyping tools, in this case Adobe XD, to design graphical interfaces, and then automatically converts them to (Vue.js + Bootstrap) code, thus creating a first version of the implementation for further development. This is done through the interpretation of the SVG file that Adobe XD exports.FCT -Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia(UIDB/50014/2020

Pattern-based analysis of automated production systems

As formal verification tools gain popularity, the problem arises of making them more accessible to engineers. A correct understanding of the logics in which properties are expressed is needed in order to guarantee that properties correctly encode the intent of the verification process. Writing appropriate properties, in a logic suitable for verification, is a skilful process. Errors in this step of the process can create serious problems since a false sense of security if gained with the analysis. However, when compared to the effort put into developing and applying modelling languages, little attention has been devoted to the process of writing properties that accurately capture verification requirements. This paper illustrates how a collection of property patterns, and its tool support, can help in simplifying the process of generating logical formulae from informally expressed requirements.(undefined

Brazilian Higher Education Analysis Through Knowledge Discovery: Annual and Temporal Approaches

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor in Information Management, specialization in Survey Methodologies and Marketing ResearchThis project presents the Ph.D. thesis proposal in the Information Management area and aims to contextualize the scenario of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Brazil, generate new knowledge and provide subsidies to justify the relevance of the problem investigated and its contributions. It explores the Brazilian Higher Education Census, from 2010 to 2015, and other official and public databases in order to generate new knowledge, based on the fact that knowledge is the main factor of social development in the Age of the Knowledge Society and Economy. It proposes to answer the following research question: "How does the annual and temporal analysis of the Brazilian Higher Education Census and other public and official databases generate new knowledge and provide strategic information to ensure the Higher Education Institutions mission’s accomplishment?" To achieve its objective, it adopts an inductive research process as a research strategy, divided into two phases: an exploratory study, followed by the knowledge generation phase. It is an interpretative, constructionist, and quantitative study. As a methodological resource, it uses the Self-Organizing Maps (SOM), a type of neural network that explores hidden patterns in a large volume of data. In this case, specifically, it is used to discover new knowledge in the area of higher education, considering the higher education institutions, their undergraduate courses, teachers, and students. Besides, and therefore, it assesses the internal dynamics of the higher education institutions and, according to the Resource-Based View (RBV) theory, presents a new approach to identify their internal resources - a gap in the current literature. The proposed approach contributes to fostering new forms of relationship, based on the combination of similar or complementary resources between and among the institutions, which will enable them to become more entrepreneurial and to behave more collaboratively. The research also contributes to 1) the adoption of an innovative methodology - SOM - for the area of Education, specifically Higher Education and a new typology for grouping the educational institutions, courses, teachers and students; 2) the advancement of the theory of RBV; 3) the area of Education, lacking quantitative studies; and 4) the extension of the concept of the entrepreneurial university – the enhanced triple helices, based on their complementary and similar resources. This new knowledge plays a significant role in the implementation of competitive responses or decisions to take in a fiercely competitive environment and contributes to the advancement of the theory under study. Keywords: knowledge discovery, higher education, Self-Organizing Maps - SOM, entrepreneurial university.Este projeto apresenta a proposta de tese de doutoramento na área de Gestão da Informação e tem como objetivo contextualizar o cenário das Instituições de Ensino Superior (IESs) do Brasil, gerar novos conhecimentos e fornecer subsídios para justificar a relevância do problema investigado e suas contribuições. Explora o Censo Brasileiro do Ensino Superior, de 2010 a 2015, e outros bancos de dados oficiais e públicos, com o intuito de gerar novos conhecimentos, pautando-se no fato de que o conhecimento é o principal fator de desenvolvimento, tanto social quanto econômico, na Era da Economia e da Sociedade do Conhecimento. Sendo assim, se propõe a responder à seguinte pergunta de investigação: "Como a análise anual e temporal do Censo Brasileiro de Ensino Superior (IES) e de outros bancos de dados oficiais e públicos geram novos conhecimentos e fornecem informações estratégicas para garantir o cumprimento da missão central das Instituições de Ensino Superior? " Para alcançar o seu objetivo, adota um processo de investigação indutivo como estratégia de pesquisa, dividido em duas fases: um estudo exploratório, seguido da fase de geração de conhecimento. Trata-se de um estudo interpretativo, construcionista e quantitativo. Como recurso metodológico utiliza os Self-Organizing Maps (SOM), um tipo de rede neural que lida com um grande volume de dados para explorar padrões ocultos. Neste caso, especificamente, com o intuito de descobrir novos conhecimentos na área da educação superior, em especial, nas instituições de ensino, seus cursos de graduação, professores e estudantes. Além disso, e como consequência, avalia a dinâmica interna das instituições de ensino estudadas e, de acordo com a teoria da Visão Baseada em Recursos (RBV), apresenta uma nova abordagem para se avaliar os recursos internos institucionais - uma lacuna na literatura atual. Contribui também para fomentar novas formas de relacionamento, baseadas na combinação de recursos similares ou complementares entre as próprias instituições, o que lhes permitirá tornarem-se mais empreendedoras e comportarem-se de forma mais colaborativa. Como contributos, pode-se assinalar: 1) a adoção de uma metodologia inovadora – os SOM – para a área da Educação, especificamente, da Educação Superior e uma nova tipologia para o agrupamento das instituições de ensino, cursos de graduação, professores e alunos; 2) sua contribuição para o avanço da teoria da RBV, com a proposição de uma nova abordagem para a identificação e a análise dos recursos internos institucionais; 3) a contribuição para a área da Educação, carente de estudos de natureza quantitativa; e 4) a proposição de ampliação do conceito da tripa hélice para um formato aprimorado, com base em seus recursos complementares e similares. Esse novo conhecimento desempenha um papel significativo na implementação de respostas ou decisões competitivas a serem tomadas, em um ambiente competitivo acirrado, além de contribuir para o avanço das teorias em estudo

Supporting requirements formulation in software formal verification

Formal verification tools such as model checkers have reached a stage were their applicability in the development process of dependable and safety critical systems has become viable. While the formal verification step in tools such as model checkers is fully automated, writing appropriate models and properties is a skillful process. In particular, a correct understanding of the logics used to express properties is needed to guarantee that properties correctly encode the original requirements. In this paper we illustrate how a patterns-based tool can help in simplifying the process of generating logical formulae from informally expressed requirements

Partial plant models in formal verification of industrial automation discrete systems

The use of a plant model for formal verification of Industrial Automation systems controllers must be used in order to improve the obtained results. However, if there are some cases where the use of a plant model makes the formal verification results more realistic and robust, there are other cases where this does not always happen. The discussion presented in this paper is related with the need of using a Plant Model considering, not all of the Plant Model, but Partial Plant models in order to facilitate formal verification tasks of Industrial Automation Discrete Event Systems

Are academic studies reliable in Brazil? Financial variables in an inflationary environment

After the stabilization of inflation rates in Brazil, Monetary Correction for financial data was extinguished. Since then, the distinct reflections of prices variations on monetary and non-monetary variables presented on balance sheets are no longer considered. From 2004 to 2013, however, the cumulative inflation reaches 226%. In this situation, questions about the reliability of the greatest tools we have in the finance research world - financial data of companies - emerges. This work compared financial indicators and empirical models built with data adjusted for inflation and original data issued by firms. A database of 143 Brazilian companies traded on Bovespa were adjusted for inflation, from 2004 to 2013, on the precepts of the extinct Monetary Correction. We obtained two different samples: the first containing financial data adjusted for inflation and the second corporate data originally released. Statistical tests showed that financial indicators such as ROI, Asset Turnover, Debt and Market-to-book are significantly higher when we do not consider the effects of inflation. In addition, the panel regression models, when adjusted, had higher predictable power (greater R²) and representative changes of significance on the variables and coefficients. The results indicated that inflation is essential in the analysis of financial data and must be considered in the preparation of reliable databases, although assumed as stable in recent years.