Analysis of the Scientific Production of the Spanish Software Engineering Community

Our group has been working on a report for the Spanish Society of Software Engineering and Software Development Technologies (SISTEDES) to provide a general overview of the Spanish scientific production and its contributions worldwide in the field of Software Engineering. Although a Database solution could have been used, we decided to employ Model-Driven Development (MDD) techniques in order to evaluate their applicability, suitability and fitness for these kinds of purposes, and to learn from the experience in this domain, which combines data integration, large scale models, and complex queries.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Analysis of the scientific production of the Spanish Software Engineering Community

Our group has been working on a report for the Spanish Society of Software Engineering and Software Development Technologies (SISTEDES) to provide a general overview of the Spanish scientific production and its contributions worldwide in the field of Software Engineering. Although a Database solution could have been used, we decided to employ Model-Driven Development (MDD) techniques in order to evaluate their applicability, suitability and fitness for these kinds of purposes, and to learn from the experience in this domain, which combines data integration, large scale models, and complex queries.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

On the Modular Specification of NFPs: A Case Study

The modular specification of non-functional properties of systems is a current challenge of Software Engineering, for which no clear solution exists. However, in the case of Domain-Specific Languages some successful proposals are starting to emerge, combining model-driven techniques with aspect-weaving mechanisms. In this paper we show one of these approaches in practice, and present the implementation we have developed to fully support it. We apply our approach for the specification and monitoring of non-functional properties using observers to a case study, illustrating how generic observers defining non-functional properties can be defined in an independent manner. Then, correspondences between these observers and the domain-specific model of the system can be established, and then weaved into a unified system specification using ATL model transformation. Such a unified specification can also be analyzed in a natural way to obtain the required non-functional properties of the system.This work is partially funded by Research Projects TIN2011-23795 and TIN2011-15497-E

Statistical Model Checking of e-Motions Domain-Specific Modeling Languages

Domain experts may use novel tools that allow them to de- sign and model their systems in a notation very close to the domain problem. However, the use of tools for the statistical analysis of stochas- tic systems requires software engineers to carefully specify such systems in low level and specific languages. In this work we line up both sce- narios, specific domain modeling and statistical analysis. Specifically, we have extended the e-Motions system, a framework to develop real-time domain-specific languages where the behavior is specified in a natural way by in-place transformation rules, to support the statistical analysis of systems defined using it. We discuss how restricted e-Motions sys- tems are used to produce Maude corresponding specifications, using a model transformation from e-Motions to Maude, which comply with the restrictions of the VeStA tool, and which can therefore be used to per- form statistical analysis on the stochastic systems thus generated. We illustrate our approach with a very simple messaging distributed system.Universidad de Málaga Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Research Project TIN2014-52034-R an

Factors determining Zn availability and uptake by plants in soils developed under Mediterranean climate

Zinc deficiency is an extended agronomic problem, particularly in staple food crops such as cereals. The availability of Zn to plants is ruled by soil properties, biological factors in the rhizosphere, and interaction with other nutrients. These factors may constrain the predictive value of Zn availability indices. This work aimed at assessing the soil factors that affect the absorption of Zn by plants and improving the predictive value of conventional indices. To this end, an experiment was performed using durum wheat (Triticum durum L.) grown on a set of soils developed under Mediterranean climate. In calcareous soils, Zn uptake by plants decreased with increased clay content and Olsen P (POlsen), meanwhile in non-calcareous soils it decreased with increased crystalline Fe oxides content. Biological factors such as microbial activity and organic anion exudation in the rhizosphere contribute to Zn uptake by plants. No relationship was found between Zn uptake by plants and the DTPA extractable Zn (ZnDTPA). Pyrophosphate extractable Zn (ZnPyro) was only related to Zn uptake by plants in calcareous soils (R2 = 0.29; P < 0.01). The best estimation of Zn uptake by plants in calcareous soils was obtained with a model involving ZnPyro/POlsen ratio and clay content (R2 = 0.57; P < 0.001). In non-calcareous soils, Zn uptake by plants was accurately estimated with a model involving Fe bound to crystalline oxides and rhizospheric oxalate (81% of the variance explained). Results reveal the need of discriminating soils according to its carbonate content and the use of soil properties related to Zn adsorption capacity, such as clay and Fe oxide content, and Olsen P for accurate estimation of Zn uptake by plants

Cue Reactivity to Variously Processed Foods

The NOVA classification system categorizes foods according to their level of processing to differentiate between industrially prepared, or Ultra-Processed (UP), and home-prepared, or Processed (P) and Minimally Processed (MP), foods. Whereas P and MP are recommended as part of a healthy diet, UP foods are considered unhealthy and a contributing factor to global, rising obesity rates. However, food addiction investigators include examples of both UP and P foods within their nomenclature of Highly Processed, addictive foods. Our study is the first to compare the potential addictiveness of a priori classified foods into UP vs P vs MP categories. We presented 169 women with a collection of 45 UP, P, and MP food pictures and recorded their subjective motivational reactivity to each picture. Analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) revealed that Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (YFAS 2.0; Gearhardt et al., 2016) scores potentiated reactivity to both UP and P pictures, but not MP pictures. In addition, although both UP and P foods produced greater motivational reactivity than MP foods, UP foods elicited significantly greater reactivity than P foods. Our findings concur with previous suggestions that foods can be classified along a continuum of addictiveness potential, but our findings are the first to demonstrate that such classification might be accomplished by following the NOVA classification system. The findings also imply that nutrition experts may need to refine their NOVA classification system and, perhaps, even their healthy diet recommendations

Towards the predictive analysis of cloud systems with e-Motions

Current methods for the predictive analysis of software systems are not directly applicable on self-adaptive systems as cloud systems, mainly due to their complexity and dynamism. To tackle the difficulties to handle the dynamic changes in the systems and their environments, we propose using graph transformation to define an adaptive com- ponent model and analysis tools for it, what allows us to carry on such analyses on dynamic architectures. Specifically, we use the e-Motions system to define the Palladio component model, and simulation-based analysis tools for it. Adaptation mechanisms are then specified as generic adaptation rules. This setting will allow us to study different mechanisms for the management of dynamic systems and their adaptation mechanisms, and different QoS metrics to be considered in a dynamic environment.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Influence of Thermal and Magnetic History on Direct DTad Measurements of Ni49+xMn36-xIn15 Heusler Alloys

In the present work, using Heusler Ni49+xMn36-xIn15 (with x = 0 and 0.5) alloys, it is shown that the choice of the appropriate measurement protocol (erasing the prior state of the sample in between experiments) in DTad first shot characterization is crucial for obtaining reliable results. Unlike indirect measurements, for which incorrect protocols produce overestimates of the characteristics of the material, erroneous direct measurements underestimate DTad in the region close to its first order phase transition. The error in DTad is found to be dependent on the temperature step used, being up to ~40% underestimation, including a slight shift in its peak temperature.AEI/FEDER-UE (project MAT-2016-77265-R)US Army Research Laboratory W911NF-19-2-021

Estructura molecular de compuestos fenólicos y sus agregados moleculares presentes en la cutícula vegetal

La superficie de hojas, tallos y frutos de las plantas superiores está cubierta por una membrana de naturaleza principalmente lipídica denominada cutícula. Esta membrana extracelular actúa como auténtica interfase entre la planta y el medio ambiente. La cutícula está constituida esencialmente por una matriz polimérica de ésteres de polihidroxiácidos grasos de cadena larga, conocida con el nombre de cutina. Asociadas a este biopolímero amorfo se encuentran las ceras cuticulares junto con importantes cantidades de polisacáridos y compuestos fenólicos. Dentro de los compuestos fenólicos en el reino vegetal destaca la familia de los flavonoides. Presentan un amplio espectro de funciones biológicas y juegan un papel fundamental en la interacción entre planta y el medio ambiente. En el caso particular del fruto de tomate sólo un pequeño número de ellos se cuantifican en cantidades significativas, estos son, naringenina, chalconaringenina, kaempferol y quercetina. Con el fin de estudiar la disposición in vivo de estos compuestos fenólicos en cutículas de fruto de tomate se han optimizado mediante cálculos DFT (Density Functional Theory) la estructura molecular de monómeros aislados de las moléculas ácido p-cumárico y naringenina en un entorno que mimetice el escenario macromolecular de la cutícula vegetal; estos resultados han sido contrastados con medidas experimentales de difracción de Rayos-X. Asimismo, se ha realizado una interpretación de sus espectros electrónicos y vibracionales Raman tanto desde un punto de vista teórico como experimental, que junto con un estudio de sus orbitales moleculares nos han permitido establecer una primera aproximación sobre la disposición de estas moléculas en el interior del biopolímero amorfo de cutina. Por otra parte se estudió la posibilidad de formación de clusters, agregados moleculares (homodímeros y heterodímeros) diseñados a partir de las geometrías optimizadas de los monómeros de las moléculas implicadas.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Este trabajo ha sido financiado por el proyecto AGL2015-65246-R del Plan Nacional de I+D Español de MINECO co-financiado por fondos FEDER de la E