Deriving software design models from a set of business processes

Requirements elicitation is a crucial activity and one of the first steps in software development process. A popular way to capture and describe requirements is through UML use case models. Transforming require- ment specifications into software design models is a complex and error prone software development activity. Software design usually involves several models, each one representing a different perspective. One of those perspectives is the data perspective which can be modeled using a data model. Although of the importance of this model, few works has been done to derive a data model from use case model. The 4SRS (4-Step Rule Set) method generates a logical architecture of a software-based system, based on a use case model. This paper proposes an approach to adapt and extend the 4SRS method in order to generate a data model supporting the generated logical architecture and the elicited requirements based in a set of business process models.This work has been supported by FCT - Fudação para a Ciência e Tecnologia in the scope of the project: PEst-UID/CEC/00319/201

An Emergent-Based Approach for Deriving Business/IT Alignment Models and Measures through IS Enactment

Business/IT Alignment is an information systems research field with a long existence and a high number of researchers and represents a central thinking direction over the entanglement between business and information systems. It aims to achieve a paradigm, on which there is a high degree of visibility and availability of information about the information systems sociomateriality. Complex-networks constitute an approach to the study of the emergent properties of complex-systems that strongly focuses and relies on models and measures, through which the system interdependence is built. Several characteristics of complex-networks are: structural or functional topology; domain independent; quantification of elements’ relationships; visibility and capture of emergent properties. We introduce a set of models and measures through the dimensions of a profiling framework illustrated with an exploratory case

Development of a self-diagnostic system integrated into a cyber-physical system

CONTROLAR provides Bosch with an intelligent functional testing machine used to test the correct functioning of the car radios produced. During this process, the radios are submitted to several tests, raising the problem of how the machine detects errors in several radios consecutively, making it impossible to know if the device has a problem since it has no module to see if it works correctly. This article arises from the need to find a solution to solve this problem, which was to develop a self-diagnostic system that will ensure the reliability and integrity of the cyber-physical system, passing a detailed state of the art. The development of this system was based on the design of an architecture that combines the KDT methodology with a DSL to manage and configure the tests to integrate the self-diagnostic test system into a CPS. A total of 28 test cases were performed to cover all its functionalities. The results show that all test cases passed. Therefore, the system meets all the proposed objectives.This article is a result of the project POCI-01-0247-FEDER-040130, supported by Operational Program for Competitiveness and Internationalization (COMPETE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

Stimuli-sensitive self-assembled tubules based on lysine-derived surfactants as nanocarriers for proteins

Drug delivery vectors based on amphiphilic molecules present considerable advantages, namely versatility in physicochemical properties and sensitivity to stimuli. Amino acid-based surfactants, in particular, are rather promising amphiphiles for this purpose1 because of their enhanced biocompatibility compared to conventional surfactants. In addition to forming micelles and vesicles, they can self-organize into other complex supramolecular structures, such as fibers, twisted ribbons, helical tapes and nanotubes.2,3 Herein, we have studied a family of novel anionic double-chained lysine-based surfactants, with variable degree of chain length mismatch. Because of their peculiar structure, these compounds are able to form in water tubular structures with assorted morphologies, as evidenced by video-enhanced light microscopy (VELM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM and cryo-SEM), cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM).3 The loading ability of the tubules towards lysozyme, under varying experimental conditions, has been investigated inter alia by differential scanning microcalorimetry, gel electrophoresis and UV/VIS spectroscopy, with the goal of assessing the efficiency of these aggregates as pH- and temperature-sensitive nanocarriers for a model biomolecule. Results on the stability of the native and loaded tubules when in contact with different fluids (serum, artificial saliva, artificial sweat, blood), and on their toxicity in human cells, are also presented and discussed.FCT is gratefully acknowledged for financial support through Ph.D. grant SFRH/BD/108629/2015. CIQUP acknowledges financial support from FEDER/COMPETE and FCT through grants UID/QUI/00081/2013, POCI-01-0145-FEDER- 006980 and NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000028

Diversity and seasonal changes in the ichthyofauna of rocky tidal pools from Praia Vermelha and São Roque, Santa Catarina, Brazil

Copyright © 2011 Tecpar.Este trabalho realizou-se entre Abril de 1998 e Maio de 1999 e visou o estudo das comunidades de peixes em duas poças de maré situadas nas praias de Praia Vermelha (PV) e São Roque (SR), Santa Catarina, Brasil. A poça de PV é maior e mais próxima do sub-mareal. Os exemplares foram coletados mensalmente, durante a baixa-mar, com o anestésico quinaldina. Em PV recolheram-se 1287 peixes pertencentes a 19 espécies enquanto em SR foram capturados 553 peixes de 11 species. Em ambas as poças as espécies dominantes foram Bathygobius soporator (Gobiidae), Abudefduf saxatilis (Pomacentridae), Parablennius pilicornis (Blenniidae), Labrisomus nuchipinnis (Labrisomidae) e Epinephelus marginatus (Serranidae). A diversidade e o número de peixes foram maiores nos meses de Verão e correspondem a uma época de recrutamento para as espécies A. saxatilis e E. marginatus.ABSTRACT: A survey of the tidal pool fish community was carried out between April 1998 and May 1999, at the beaches of Praia Vermelha (PV) and São Roque (SR), Santa Catarina, Brazil. The pool of PV was bigger and closer to the subtidal. Specimens were collected monthly at low tide, using quinaldine. In PV we collected 1287 fish belonging to 19 species and in SR 553 fish were caught corresponding to 11 species. In both pools, dominant species were Bathygobius soporator (Gobiidae), Abudefduf saxatilis (Pomacentridae), Parablennius pilicornis (Blenniidae), Gobiesox barbatulus (Gobiesocidae), Labrisomus nuchipinnis (Labrisomidae) and Epinephelus marginatus (Serranidae). Summer months had higher abundance and diversity values, and correspond to a recruitment season for both A. saxatilis and E. marginatus

Adaptations and responses of the common dandelion to low atmospheric pressure in high‐altitude environments

Atmospheric pressure is an important, yet understudied factor that may shape plant ecology and evolution. By growing plants under controlled conditions at different experimental stations in the Swiss alps, we evaluated the impact of ecologically realistic atmospheric pressures between 660 and 950 hPa on the growth and defence of different dandelion populations. Low atmospheric pressure was associated with reduced root growth and defensive sesquiterpene lactone production. Defence suppression only occurred in populations originating from lower altitudes. Populations from higher altitudes constitutively produced less sesquiterpene lactones and did not suffer from suppression under low atmospheric pressure. Synthesis. We conclude that atmospheric pressure modulates root growth and defence traits, and that evolutionary history shapes plant phenotypic responses to atmospheric pressure. Our findings have important implications for our understanding of altitudinal gradients and the future use of plants as a source of food and bioactive metabolites in extraterrestrial habitats

Synthesis, photochemical and in vitro cytotoxic evaluation of benzoselenazole-based aminosquaraines

Squaraine dyes have recently attracted interest as potential second generation photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy. Several cationic aminosquaraine dyes bearing benzoselenazole terminal nuclei were synthezised and their cytotoxic activity was tested against four different human tumor cell lines – breast (MCF-7), non-small cell lung (NCI-H460), cervical (HeLa) and hepatocellular (HepG2) carcinomas – and against a non-tumor porcine liver primary cell line (PLP2), both in the absence of light and under irradiation. All dyes, which displayed strong absorption within the phototherapeutic window, were found to exhibit photodynamic activity and were shown to be, in most cases, more cytotoxic, both in the dark and upon irradiation, than their benzothiazole analogues.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and the FEDER for CIMO (UID/ AGR/00690/2013) and CQ-VR (UID/QUI/00616/2013) financial support.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Graphene Based Sensors for Air Quality Monitoring - Preliminary Development Evaluation

Indoor air pollution can induce adverse health effects on building occupants and pose a significant role in health worldwide. To avoid such effects, it is extremely important to monitor and control common indoor pollutants such as CO2, VOCs and relative humidity. Therefore, this work focuses on recent advances in the field of graphene-based gas sensors, emphasizing the use of modified graphene that broadly expands the range of nanomaterials sensors. Graphene films were grown on copper by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and transferred to arbitrary substrates. After synthesis, the samples were functionalized with Al2O3 by ALD and characterized by a large set of experimental techniques such as XPS, Raman and SEM. The results demonstrated that graphene was successfully synthesized and transferred to SiO2, glass and polymer. As a proof-of-concept, ALD of Al2O3 was performed on the graphene surface to produce a graphene/metal oxide nanostructure towards the development of nanocomposites for gas sensing. From this perspective, a laboratory prototype device based in measuring the electrical properties of the graphene sample as a function of the gas absorption is under development