NDT. A Model-Driven Approach for Web Requirements

Web engineering is a new research line in software engineering that covers the definition of processes, techniques, and models suitable for Web environments in order to guarantee the quality of results. The research community is working in this area and, as a very recent line, they are assuming the Model-Driven paradigm to support and solve some classic problems detected in Web developments. However, there is a lack in Web requirements treatment. This paper presents a general vision of Navigational Development Techniques (NDT), which is an approach to deal with requirements in Web systems. It is based on conclusions obtained in several comparative studies and it tries to fill some gaps detected by the research community. This paper presents its scope, its most important contributions, and offers a global vision of its associated tool: NDT-Tool. Furthermore, it analyzes how Web Engineering can be applied in the enterprise environment. NDT is being applied in real projects and has been adopted by several companies as a requirements methodology. The approach offers a Web requirements solution based on a Model-Driven paradigm that follows the most accepted tendencies by Web engineering.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TIN2007-67843-C06-03Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TIN2007-30391-

A Model-Driven Approach for Business Process Management

The Business Process Management is a common mechanism recommended by a high number of standards for the management of companies and organizations. In software companies this practice is every day more accepted and companies have to assume it, if they want to be competitive. However, the effective definition of these processes and mainly their maintenance and execution are not always easy tasks. This paper presents an approach based on the Model-Driven paradigm for Business Process Management in software companies. This solution offers a suitable mechanism that was implemented successfully in different companies with a tool case named NDTQ-Framework.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TIN2010-20057-C03-02Junta de Andalucía TIC-578

Automatic Test Case Generation from Functional Requirements in NDT

Navigational Development Techniques (NDT) is a Model-driven framework focused on defining Web requirements and obtaining related artefacts from them by means of transformations. Testing is one of the key elements in a software development process, however NDT neither include models to define artefacts nor transformations to obtain them from requirements. This paper presents how NDT improves with new models and transformations in order to generate test cases.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TIN2010-20057-C03-02Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TIN2010-12312-EJunta de Andalucía TIC-578

An overview on test generation from functional requirements

Despite the fact that the test phase is described in the literature as one of the most relevant for quality assurance in software projects, this test phase is not usually developed, among others, with enough resources, time or suitable techniques. To offer solutions which supply the test phase, with appropriate tools for the automation of tests generation, or even, for their self-execution, could become a suitable way to improve this phase and reduce the cost constraints in real projects. This paper focuses on answering a concrete research question: is it possible to generate test cases from functional requirements described in an informal way? For this aim, it presents an overview of a set of relevant approaches that works in this field and offers a set of comparative analysis to determine which the state of the art is.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TIN2007-67843-C06 03Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TIN2010- 20057-C03-0

Expert Panel on Initial Diabetic Foot Care

Debido a la alta prevalencia de la diabetes, el pie diabético es la causa más importante de amputación no traumática en el mundo. Objetivos: Determinar los aspectos críticos para la prevención, diagnóstico y tratamiento del pie diabético en el primer y segundo nivel de complejidad del sistema de salud colombiano. Métodos: Con base en un conjunto de cinco preguntas clínicas priorizadas por un grupo de expertos, se realizó una búsqueda no sistemática de la literatura en motores de búsqueda genéricos, así como en las bases de datos Medline, Embase y Cochrane Library. Se seleccionaron guías basadas en la evidencia, revisiones sistemáticas, ensayos clínicos aleatorizados en fase III y estudios observacionales. La información se discutió en un panel multidisciplinario de expertos. Resultados: Toda consulta médica de un paciente diabético debe incluir anamnesis y examen físico rigurosos para la detección de neuropatía y vasculopatía del pie, así como educación sobre el autocuidado. La presencia de úlcera, infección, neuropatía u obstrucción arterial requieren manejo multidisciplinario en un segundo o tercer nivel de atención. El uso de clasificaciones de riesgo para definir el pronóstico y orientar el tratamiento es altamente recomendado. Conclusiones: Se presentan varios lineamientos de atención del pie diabético en Colombia. Algunas de las indicaciones provienen de la opinión de expertos, por lo que se requieren más estudios para responder de forma contundente a las preguntas planteadas.Introduction: Due to the high prevalence of diabetes, diabetic foot is the most important cause of non-traumatic amputation in the world. Objectives: To determine the critical aspects for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diabetic foot in the first and second level of complexity of the Colombian health system. Methods: Based on a set of five clinical questions prioritized by a group of experts, a non-systematic search of the literature was performed in generic search engines, as well as in the Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library databases. Evidence-based guidelines, systematic reviews, phase III randomized clinical trials, and observational studies were selected. The information was discussed in a multidisciplinary panel of experts. Results: Any medical consultation of a diabetic patient should include a rigorous history and physical examination for the detection of neuropathy and vascular disease of the foot, as well as education on self-care. The presence of ulcer, infection, neuropathy or arterial obstruction require multidisciplinary management at a second or third level of care. The use of risk classifications to define prognosis and guide treatment is highly recommended. Conclusions: Several diabetic foot care guidelines in Colombia are presented. Some of the indications come from the opinion of experts, so more studies are required to conclusively answer the questions raised

Evolution over Time of Ventilatory Management and Outcome of Patients with Neurologic Disease∗

OBJECTIVES: To describe the changes in ventilator management over time in patients with neurologic disease at ICU admission and to estimate factors associated with 28-day hospital mortality. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of three prospective, observational, multicenter studies. SETTING: Cohort studies conducted in 2004, 2010, and 2016. PATIENTS: Adult patients who received mechanical ventilation for more than 12 hours. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Among the 20,929 patients enrolled, we included 4,152 (20%) mechanically ventilated patients due to different neurologic diseases. Hemorrhagic stroke and brain trauma were the most common pathologies associated with the need for mechanical ventilation. Although volume-cycled ventilation remained the preferred ventilation mode, there was a significant (p < 0.001) increment in the use of pressure support ventilation. The proportion of patients receiving a protective lung ventilation strategy was increased over time: 47% in 2004, 63% in 2010, and 65% in 2016 (p < 0.001), as well as the duration of protective ventilation strategies: 406 days per 1,000 mechanical ventilation days in 2004, 523 days per 1,000 mechanical ventilation days in 2010, and 585 days per 1,000 mechanical ventilation days in 2016 (p < 0.001). There were no differences in the length of stay in the ICU, mortality in the ICU, and mortality in hospital from 2004 to 2016. Independent risk factors for 28-day mortality were age greater than 75 years, Simplified Acute Physiology Score II greater than 50, the occurrence of organ dysfunction within first 48 hours after brain injury, and specific neurologic diseases such as hemorrhagic stroke, ischemic stroke, and brain trauma. CONCLUSIONS: More lung-protective ventilatory strategies have been implemented over years in neurologic patients with no effect on pulmonary complications or on survival. We found several prognostic factors on mortality such as advanced age, the severity of the disease, organ dysfunctions, and the etiology of neurologic disease