Identifying confidentiality violations in architectural design using palladio

Meeting confidentiality requirements in software systems is vital for organizations. Considering confidentiality in early development phases such as the architectural design phase is beneficial compared to late phases such as the implementation because fixing design issues is more cost-efficient in early phases. This tutorial introduces an approach for modeling and statically analyzing confidentiality in software architectures within the Palladio tool suite. Besides foundational knowledge, the tutorial provides a practical hands-on session using the tool. The goal is to show that it is already possible to consider confidentiality in the early design process and that this consideration can be integrated into existing architectural design tools

Understanding Analysts Forecasts

The purpose of this paper is to model analysts ’ forecasts. The paper differs from the previous research in that we do not focus on how accurate these predictions may be. Accuracy may indeed be an important quality but we argue instead that another equally important aspect of the analysts ’ job is to predict and describe the impact of jump events. In effect, the analysts ’ role is one of scenario prediction. Using a Bayesian-inspired generalised method of moments estimation procedure, we use this notion of scenario prediction combined with the structure of the Morgan Stanley analysts’ forecasting database to model normal (base), optimistic (bull) and pessimistic (bear) forecas

Evaluating a reinforcement learning algorithm with a general intelligence test

In this paper we apply the recent notion of anytime universal intelligence tests to the evaluation of a popular reinforcement learning algorithm, Q-learning. We show that a general approach to intelligence evaluation of AI algorithms is feasible. This top-down (theory-derived) approach is based on a generation of environments under a Solomonoff universal distribution instead of using a pre-defined set of specific tasks, such as mazes, problem repositories, etc. This first application of a general intelligence test to a reinforcement learning algorithm brings us to the issue of task-specific vs. general AI agents. This, in turn, suggests new avenues for AI agent evaluation and AI competitions, and also conveys some further insights about the performance of specific algorithms. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.We are grateful for the funding from the Spanish MEC and MICINN for projects TIN2009-06078-E/TIN, Consolider-Ingenio CSD2007-00022 and TIN2010-21062-C02, for MEC FPU grant AP2006-02323, and Generalitat Valenciana for Prometeo/2008/051.Insa Cabrera, J.; Dowe, DL.; Hernández Orallo, J. (2011). Evaluating a reinforcement learning algorithm with a general intelligence test. En Advances in Artificial Intelligence. Springer Verlag (Germany). 7023:1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-25274-7_1S1117023Dowe, D.L., Hajek, A.R.: A non-behavioural, computational extension to the Turing Test. In: Intl. Conf. on Computational Intelligence & multimedia applications (ICCIMA 1998), Gippsland, Australia, pp. 101–106 (1998)Genesereth, M., Love, N., Pell, B.: General game playing: Overview of the AAAI competition. AI Magazine 26(2), 62 (2005)Hernández-Orallo, J.: Beyond the Turing Test. J. Logic, Language & Information 9(4), 447–466 (2000)Hernández-Orallo, J.: A (hopefully) non-biased universal environment class for measuring intelligence of biological and artificial systems. In: Hutter, M., et al. (eds.) 3rd Intl. Conf. on Artificial General Intelligence, Atlantis, pp. 182–183 (2010)Hernández-Orallo, J.: On evaluating agent performance in a fixed period of time. In: Hutter, M., et al. (eds.) 3rd Intl. Conf. on Artificial General Intelligence, pp. 25–30. Atlantis Press (2010)Hernández-Orallo, J., Dowe, D.L.: Measuring universal intelligence: Towards an anytime intelligence test. Artificial Intelligence 174(18), 1508–1539 (2010)Legg, S., Hutter, M.: A universal measure of intelligence for artificial agents. Intl. Joint Conf. on Artificial Intelligence, IJCAI 19, 1509 (2005)Legg, S., Hutter, M.: Universal intelligence: A definition of machine intelligence. Minds and Machines 17(4), 391–444 (2007)Levin, L.A.: Universal sequential search problems. Problems of Information Transmission 9(3), 265–266 (1973)Li, M., Vitányi, P.: An introduction to Kolmogorov complexity and its applications, 3rd edn. Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. (2008)Sanghi, P., Dowe, D.L.: A computer program capable of passing IQ tests. In: Proc. 4th ICCS International Conference on Cognitive Science (ICCS 2003), Sydney, Australia, pp. 570–575 (2003)Solomonoff, R.J.: A formal theory of inductive inference. Part I. Information and Control 7(1), 1–22 (1964)Strehl, A.L., Li, L., Wiewiora, E., Langford, J., Littman, M.L.: PAC model-free reinforcement learning. In: Proc. of the 23rd Intl. Conf. on Machine Learning, ICML 2006, New York, pp. 881–888 (2006)Sutton, R.S., Barto, A.G.: Reinforcement learning: An introduction. The MIT press (1998)Turing, A.M.: Computing machinery and intelligence. Mind 59, 433–460 (1950)Veness, J., Ng, K.S., Hutter, M., Silver, D.: Reinforcement learning via AIXI approximation. In: Proc. 24th Conf. on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI 2010), pp. 605–611 (2010)Watkins, C.J.C.H., Dayan, P.: Q-learning. Machine learning 8(3), 279–292 (1992)Weyns, D., Parunak, H.V.D., Michel, F., Holvoet, T., Ferber, J.: Environments for multiagent systems state-of-the-art and research challenges. In: Weyns, D., Van Dyke Parunak, H., Michel, F. (eds.) E4MAS 2004. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 3374, pp. 1–47. Springer, Heidelberg (2005)Whiteson, S., Tanner, B., White, A.: The Reinforcement Learning Competitions. The AI magazine 31(2), 81–94 (2010)Woergoetter, F., Porr, B.: Reinforcement learning. Scholarpedia 3(3), 1448 (2008)Zatuchna, Z., Bagnall, A.: Learning mazes with aliasing states: An LCS algorithm with associative perception. Adaptive Behavior 17(1), 28–57 (2009

Exploring quality-aware architectural transformations at run-time: the ENIA case

Adapting software systems at run-time is a key issue, especially when these systems consist of components used as intermediary for human-computer interaction. In this sense, model transformation techniques have a widespread acceptance as a mechanism for adapting and evolving the software architecture of such systems. However, existing model transformations often focus on functional requirements, and quality attributes are only manually considered after the transformations are done. This paper aims to improve the quality of adaptations and evolutions in component-based software systems by taking into account quality attributes within the model transformation process. To this end, we present a quality-aware transformation process using software architecture metrics to select among many alternative model transformations. Such metrics evaluate the quality attributes of an architecture. We validate the presented quality-aware transformation process in ENIA, a geographic information system whose user interfaces are based on coarsegrained components and need to be adapted at run-time

Kuksa*: Self-Adaptive Microservices in Automotive Systems

In pervasive dynamic environments, vehicles connect to other objects to send operational data and receive updates so that vehicular applications can provide services to users on demand. Automotive systems should be self-adaptive, thereby they can make real-time decisions based on changing operating conditions. Emerging modern solutions, such as microservices could improve self-adaptation capabilities and ensure higher levels of quality performance in many domains. We employed a real-world automotive platform called Eclipse Kuksa to propose a framework based on microservices architecture to enhance the self-adaptation capabilities of automotive systems for runtime data analysis. To evaluate the designed solution, we conducted an experiment in an automotive laboratory setting where our solution was implemented as a microservice-based adaptation engine and integrated with other Eclipse Kuksa components. The results of our study indicate the importance of design trade-offs for quality requirements' satisfaction levels of each microservices and the whole system for the optimal performance of an adaptive system at runtime

Evidence in peroneal nerve entrapment: A scoping review

peer reviewedBackground and purpose: Daily management of patients with foot drop due to peroneal nerve entrapment varies between a purely conservative treatment and early surgery, with no high-quality evidence to guide current practice. Electrodiagnostic (EDX) prognostic features and the value of imaging in establishing and supplementing the diagnosis have not been clearly established. Methods: We performed a literature search in the online databases MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. Of the 42 unique articles meeting the eligibility criteria, 10 discussed diagnostic performance of imaging, 11 reported EDX limits for abnormal values and/or the value of EDX in prognostication, and 26 focused on treatment outcome. Results: Studies report high sensitivity and specificity of both ultrasound (varying respectively from 47.1% to 91% and from 53% to 100%) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; varying respectively from 31% to 100% and from 73% to 100%). One comparative trial favoured ultrasound over MRI. Variable criteria for a conduction block (>20%–≥50) were reported. A motor conduction block and any baseline compound motor action potential response were identified as predictors of good outcome. Based predominantly on case series, the percentage of patients with good outcome ranged 0%–100% after conservative treatment and 40%−100% after neurolysis. No study compared both treatments. Conclusions: Ultrasound and MRI have good accuracy, and introducing imaging in the standard diagnostic workup should be considered. Further research should focus on the role of EDX in prognostication. No recommendation on the optimal treatment strategy of peroneal nerve entrapment can be made, warranting future randomized controlled trials. © 2021 European Academy of Neurolog