Automatic architectural enforcement

Automatic architectural enforcement would be very beneficial especially in product line development using open source practices where there is very limited or no access to the architects and the architecture is of paramount importance. However, current techniques for modelling software architecture do not support the modelling of architectural design rules which means that architectural enforcement is achieved by manual reviews. This paper addresses this problem by proposing how architectural design rules could be expressed in UML in a meta-model for the system model

The separation of multiple mutually interfering FM signals and the use of predistortion to compensate for nonlinear RF amplifiers

This thesis covers two fairly different topics, separation of multiple FM signals, emphasizing on the case of three FM signals, and pre-distortion for compensation of non-linear amplifiers. The thesis shows that given a received signals that is the sum of three or more interfering FM signals whose phases are bandlimited, there is strong reasons to believe that there is unique solution. I.e., it is probably not possible for any other FM signals that are bandlimited to add to the same received signal. The research also shows that the solution is stable, a small error will not cause a divergence from the solution. Furthermore, a series expansion of the received phase in the case of three interfering FM signals is derived that shows the phase error is wideband compared to the bandwidth of the phase, provided that the strongest signal is strictly dominating. This shows that there is a capture effect on the strongest signal, it also shows that it is not always be possible to separate the three FM signals through cross coupled phased locked loop (CCPLL) techniques. It is also shown that the amplitudes of the signals can be found and how this can be done. An iterative method is presented for separating the three FM signals together with some simulations. The simulations support the theoretical findings;In the pre-distorter research, high order pre-distorters have been found for a fairly wide class of amplifiers. The technique circumvents the Volterra series approach and its associated problems. As the implementation of these pre-distorters are very simple, there is not any practical limitations on the order. For example, an 11th order pre-distorter is easily implemented. The theory behind these types of pre-distorter is developed and is supported through simulations

Regularity of oscillatory integral operators

In this paper, we establish the global boundedness of oscillatory integral operators on Besov-Lipschitz and Triebel-Lizorkin spaces, with amplitudes in general $S^m_{\rho,\delta}(\mathbb{R}^n)$-classes and non-degenerate phase functions in the class \textart F^k. Our results hold for a wide range of parameters $0\leq\rho\leq1$, $0\leq\delta<1$, $0<p\leq\infty$, $0<q\leq\infty$ and $k>0$. We also provide a sufficient condition for the boundedness of operators with amplitudes in the forbidden class $S^m_{1,1}(\mathbb{R}^n)$ in Triebel-Lizorkin spaces.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2302.0031

Profitability calculation for spruce production on drained and ash fertilized mire

In Sweden there are about 4 million hectares of bare peat (mire). This land has great potential to be transformed into productive forest land, provided drainage is carried out and, in some cases, even fertilization with ashes. Drainage of mires is necessary because the high groundwater table prevents trees from growing due to reduced oxygen availability. Some of the key nutrients that trees need to grow appear in too small quantities in mires, especially potassium (K) and phosphorus (P). Ash from the combustion of biomass contains these elements and is therefore suitable as a fertilizer. Initiations of such projects usually entail high investment-costs and careful planning. This report presents land value calculation for mires when these are: 1. only drained or 2. drained and fertilized with ash. This was done by first dividing Sweden into four country regions in which the conversion of mires with varying site type to productive spruce forests were simulated. The calculations were based on data on temperature sums, drainage fertility potential, growth models, timber prices and other related expenses. The forecasting of forest growth and yield range was based on functions from the growth model Beståndsmetoden which was calculated in Microsoft Excel. Each site type in each country region constituted 1 ha and a land value was calculated for all stands. Thereafter a comparison was made of the profitability of the various stands within and between country regions. The results show that profitability decreases with increasing latitude and with lower SI. By adding ash fertilization to already drained mire, land value is always raised. Interest rate is by far the biggest factor that affects whether or not it is profitable to engage in forestry with the above management practices.I Sverige finns ca 4 miljoner ha kal torvmark (myr). Denna mark har stor potential att omvandlas till produktiv skogsmark under förutsättning att den markavvattnas och, i vissa fall, även gödslas med aska. Markavvattning på myrmark är nödvändigt eftersom den höga grundvattenytan förhindrar träd att växa på grund av reducerad syretillgång. Denna mark har dessutom brist på några av de viktigaste näringsämnena som träd behöver för att växa, framför allt kalium (K) och fosfor (P). Aska från förbränning av biomassa innehåller dessa ämnen och lämpar sig därför som gödselmedel. Att inleda ett sådant projekt innebär i regel stora investeringskostnader och noggrann planering. I denna rapport presenteras en kalkyl för hur markvärdet beräknas för myrmark som 1: enbart markavvattnas eller 2: markavvattnas och askgödslas. Detta gjordes genom att först indela Sverige i fyra landsdelar inom vilka omvandling av myr med varierande ståndortstyp till produktiv granskogsmark simulerades. Beräkningarna byggde på uppgifter om temperatursummor, dikningsboniteter, tillväxtfunktioner, virkespriser och övriga anknutna kostnader. Prognostiseringen av skogstillväxt och sortimentsutbyte byggde på funktioner ur Beståndsmetoden och beräknades i Microsoft Excel. Varje ståndortstyp inom respektive landsdel utgjorde ett bestånd på 1 ha och ett markvärde beräknades för samtliga bestånd. Slutligen jämfördes lönsamheten mellan de olika bestånden inom och mellan landsdelarna. Resultaten visar att lönsamheten sjunker med stigande latitud samt med lägre SI. Att askgödsla marken utöver markavvattning höjer alltid markvärdet. Räntekravet är den i särklass största faktorn som påverkar om det är lönsamt eller inte att bedriva skogsbruk med ovan stående skötselmetoder

The situation for onion farming in Sweden, Åland and Finland : a studie of farmers´ views on onion farming today and in the future

Sammanfattning För tillfället råder en stor osäkerhet inom lökodlingen i såväl Sverige som Finland på grund av att bekämpningsmedlen Stomp och Totril, som är huvudherbicider i lökodlingen, kommer att förbjudas senast 2014. Det råder också en viss osäkerhet på grund av de låga prisnivåerna på lök de senaste åren. De låga priserna beror till största delen på att importerad lök i hög utsträckning har tagit sig in främst på den svenska marknaden. De finländska odlarna känner inte av denna press från importen fullt lika mycket eftersom de finländska konsumenterna, i högre utsträckning än de svenska, väljer att köpa inhemska produkter trots att de är dyrare. Även Åland har analyserats särskilt i denna studie eftersom en tredjedel av den finländska lökodlingen finns här och löken, tillsammans med chipspotatisen, är den mest betydande grödan på Åland. Mot bakgrund av detta syftar denna studie till att undersöka hur lökodlarna ser på den nuvarande situationen och framtiden för lökodlingen i de olika länderna. Därmed kan eventuella skillnader inom lökproduktionen påvisas i de geografiska områdena. Detta görs genom ett antal intervjuer med svenska, åländska och finländska lökodlare. Fokus under intervjuerna ligger på den enskilde lantbrukarens tankar och åsikter om dagens situation och hur denne ser på framtiden dels för det egna företaget men även för den inhemska lökodlingen i stort. Svaren sammanställdes och analyserades sedan med hjälp av 16 hypoteser som satts upp utifrån teorikapitlet. Hypoteserna berör områdena företagets omvärld, företagets livscykel och målsättningar, företagsledning i lantbruksföretag samt beslutsfattande. I analyskapitlet förkastades eller bekräftades hypoteserna av det empiriska materialet och sedan drogs ett antal slutsatser. Studien visar att odlarna i samtliga geografiska områden upplever importen som ett hot, främst mot prisbilden. Alla odlare är också överens om att lökproduktionen måste ske på lika villkor inom EU, eftersom det är en gemensam marknad. Det är ohållbart att förbjuda bekämpningsmedel i Sverige och Finland som får användas i Holland och Danmark. Gemensamt för odlarna i samtliga områden är också att det är viktigt med en bra relation till uppköparen vare sig det handlar om en förmedlare eller grossister. Det innebär en stor trygghet att veta att det går att få löken såld. Trenden går också mot att lantbrukarna blir mer och mer företagsinriktade vilket bekräftas av att de svenska odlarna ser räkenskaperna som den viktigaste informationskällan. De finländska och åländska odlarna ser de ekonomiska skälen som de viktigaste till att lökodlingen bedrivs på gårdarna. För att förbättra situationen för odlarna och minska osäkerheten är en aktivare odlingsrådgivning och fler försäljningskanaler två möjligheter för Ålands del. För de finländska odlarnas del skulle situationen kunna förbättras om utsädet köptes in centralt, liksom det görs i Sverige och på Åland, istället för att varje odlare själv ska köpa in utsädet.Summary Currently there is great uncertainty in the onion farming in both Sweden and Finland due to that the pesticides Totril and Stomp, which is the main herbicides in onion farming, will be banned by 2014. There is also some uncertainty due to the low prices of onions in recent years. The low prices depend largely on that imported onions to a large extent have entered mainly onto the Swedish market. The Finnish farmers are not pressured by this phenomenon as much as the Swedish farmers thanks to the Finnish consumers´ willingness to buy domestic products even though they are more expensive. The Åland Islands have been analyzed separately in this study because a third of the onion farming in Finland is located here and onions, along with potato chips, are the most important crops in Åland. Against this background, this study aims to examine how onion farmers look at the current situation and future of onion farming in the countries studied. Hereby the study will also display potential differences within onion production in the geographical areas. This is done through a series of interviews with onion farmers in Sweden, Åland and Finland. The focus during the interviews is on the individual farmer's thoughts and views on the current situation and how he sees the future for their own company but also for the domestic onion farming in general. The responses were compiled and then analyzed using the 16 hypotheses that were set based on the theory chapter. The hypotheses concern the areas of business environment, the company´s lifecycle and objectives, senior management in the farming business and decision making. The analysis chapter rejected or confirmed the hypotheses in light of the empirical evidence and then a number of conclusions were drawn. The study shows that farmers in all geographic areas experience imports as a threat, mainly to the pricing of the onion. All growers also agree that onion farming must be conducted on equal terms in Europe, because it is a common market. It is untenable to ban pesticides in Sweden and Finland, which may be used in Holland and Denmark. Common to growers in all areas is that it is important to have a good relationship with the purchaser, whether it is an intermediary or wholesaler. It means a great comfort to know that it is possible to get the onions sold. The trend is also towards the farmers are becoming more and more business oriented. This is confirmed by the Swedish growers see the accounts as the main source of information. The Finnish and Åland farmers see the economic reasons as the key to that onion farming is conducted on their farms. To improve the situation for the farmers and reduce uncertainties is an active farming advice and more sales channels two possibilities for Åland. For Finnish farmers the situation would be improved if the seed were purchased centrally, as it is done in Sweden and Åland, instead of every farmer himself would buy the seed

Design concept towards a human-centered learning factory

Learning factories play an important role when studying multi-disciplinary problems. Such a problem is to support operators in multi-variant assembly. Multi-variants cause problems with product quality, production time as well as cognitive load and therefore it is important to find ways to support operators in this context. To assess the effects of multi variants, a design concept were developed in a learning factory environment (SIILab, CPPS-testbed). The concept was constructed at a conveyer belt with three assembly stations using Casat software for instruction presentations. The following aspects were included in the human-centered learning factory: studying the introduction of advanced automation, managing product variety, supporting operators in finding information and supporting existing human-automation interactions

Effects of Information Content in Work Instructions for Operator Performance

Operators remain as important resources in complex final assembly. To sustain a multi-variant production, it is necessary for operators to manage high demands from a cognitive workload perspective. In such situations, work instructions can support operators cognitively. However, work instructions are often insufficient or unused in final assembly. In this paper, results from testbed experiments are presented where assembly work was supported by different types of work instructions with differing information content. Results indicate that operator performance in terms of perceived cognitive workload and information quality are affected by the presented content of information in work instructions

Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein specific antibodies are pathogenic

INTRODUCTION: Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is a major non-collagenous component of cartilage. Earlier, we developed a new mouse model for rheumatoid arthritis using COMP. This study was undertaken to investigate the epitope specificity and immunopathogenicity of COMP-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). METHODS: B cell immunodominant regions on the COMP molecule were measured with a novel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using mammalian expressed full-length mouse COMP as well as a panel of recombinant mouse COMP fragments. 18 mAbs specific to COMP were generated and the pathogenicity of mAbs was investigated by passive transfer experiments. RESULTS: B cell immunodominant epitopes were localized within 4 antigenic domains of the COMP but with preferential response to the epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domain. Some of our anti-COMP mAbs showed interactions with the native form of COMP, which is present in cartilage and synovium. Passive transfer of COMP-specific mAbs enhanced arthritis when co-administrated with a sub-arthritogenic dose of a mAb specific to collagen type II. Interestingly, we found that a combination of 5 COMP mAbs was capable of inducing arthritis in naive mice. CONCLUSIONS: We have identified the specificities of mAbs to COMP and their contribution to the development of arthritis. These findings will further improve our understanding of the autoantibody mediated immunopathologies occurring widely in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as well as in other autoimmune disorders

Risk factors for marginal ulcer after gastric bypass surgery for obesity:A population-based cohort study

ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess risk factors for developing marginal ulcer (MU) after gastric bypass (GBP) surgery for obesity.BackgroundMU is a common and potentially serious complication of GBP surgery, little is known about its etiology.MethodsThis population-based cohort study of GBP in 2006-2011 evaluated MU in relation to diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), ulcer history, use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression models estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for confounding.ResultsAmong 20,294 GBP patients, diabetes and peptic ulcer history entailed statistically significantly increased risk of MU (HR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.03-1.55 and HR  =  2.70, 95% CI 1.81-4.03), although hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and COPD did not. PPI users had an increased HR of MU (HR  =  1.37, 95% CI 1.17-1.60). Aspirin and NSAID consumption less than or equal to median entailed decreased HRs of MU (HR  =  0.56, 95% CI 0.37-0.86 and HR  =  0.30, 95% CI 0.24-0.38), although aspirin and NSAID users more than median had an increased risk and no association with MU, respectively (HR  =  1.90, 95% CI 1.41-2.58 and HR  =  0.90, 95% CI 0.76-1.87). The use of SSRI less than or equal to median had a decreased risk of MU (HR  =  0.50, 95% CI 0.37-0.67), although use more than median entailed increased HR (HR  =  1.26, 95% CI 1.01-1.56).ConclusionsDiabetes and peptic ulcer history seem to be risk factors for MU, but not hyperlipidemia, hypertension, or COPD. Limited doses of aspirin, NSAIDs, and SSRIs might not increase the risk, although higher doses of aspirin do. The association with PPI could be due to confounding by indication

Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein deficiency promotes early onset and the chronic development of collagen-induced arthritis

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is a homopentameric protein in cartilage. The development of arthritis, like collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), involves cartilage as a target tissue. We have investigated the development of CIA in COMP-deficient mice. METHODS: COMP-deficient mice in the 129/Sv background were backcrossed for 10 generations against B10.Q mice, which are susceptible to chronic CIA. COMP-deficient and wild-type mice were tested for onset, incidence, and severity of arthritis in both the collagen and collagen antibody-induced arthritis models. Serum anti-collagen II and anti-COMP antibodies as well as serum COMP levels in arthritic and wild-type mice were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: COMP-deficient mice showed a significant early onset and increase in the severity of CIA in the chronic phase, whereas collagen II-antibody titers were similar in COMP-deficient and wild-type controls. COMP antibodies were not found in wild-type mice. Finally, COMP-deficient and wild-type mice responded similarly to collagen antibody-induced arthritis, indicating no difference in how collagen II antibodies interact with COMP-deficient cartilage during the initial stages of arthritis. CONCLUSIONS: COMP deficiency enhances the early onset and development of chronic arthritis but does not affect collagen II autoimmunity. These findings accentuate the importance of COMP in cartilage stability