NEGOSEIO: framework for the sustainability of model-oriented enterprise interoperability

Dissertation to obtain the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering(Industrial Information Systems)This dissertation tackles the problematic of Enterprise Interoperability in the current globally connected world. The evolution of the Information and Communication Technologies has endorsed the establishment of fast, secure and robust data exchanges, promoting the development of networked solutions. This allowed the specialisation of enterprises (particularly SMEs) and favoured the development of complex and heterogeneous provider systems. Enterprises are abandoning their self-centrism and working together on the development of more complete solutions. Entire business solutions are built integrating several enterprises (e.g., in supply chains, enterprise nesting) towards a common objective. Additionally, technologies, platforms, trends, standards and regulations keep evolving and demanding enterprises compliance. This evolution needs to be continuous, and is naturally followed by a constant update of each networked enterprise’s interfaces, assets, methods and processes. This unstable environment of perpetual change is causing major concerns in both SMEs and customers as the current interoperability grounds are frail, easily leading to periods of downtime, where business is not possible. The pressure to restore interoperability rapidly often leads to patching and to the adoption of immature solutions, contributing to deteriorate even more the interoperable environment. This dissertation proposes the adoption of NEGOSEIO, a framework that tackles interoperability issues by developing strong model-based knowledge assets and promoting continuous improvement and adaptation for increasing the sustainability of interoperability on enterprise systems. It presents the research motivations and the developed framework’s main blocks, which include model-based knowledge management, collaboration service-oriented architectures implemented over a cloud-based solution, and focusing particularly on its negotiation core mechanism to handle inconsistencies and solutions for the detected interoperability problems. It concludes by validating the research and the proposed framework, presenting its application in a real business case of aerospace mission design on the European Space Agency (ESA).FP7 ENSEMBLE, UNITE, MSEE and IMAGINE project

USE OF AMPHOTERICIN B IN THE SIMULTANEOUS TREATMENT OF CHROMOBLASTOMYCOSIS AND AMERICAN TEGUMENTARY LEISHMANIASIS: A CASE REPORT

ABSTRACT Chromoblastomycosis (CMB) is a polymorphic fungal disease that usually affects the lower limbs and manifests as verrucous nodules or plaques that may ulcerate. American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis (ATL) is an infectious parasitic disease caused by digenetic protozoa of the genus Leishmania sp. which affects the skin and/or mucous membranes of man and various species of wild and domestic animals. Both are part of the World Health Organization (WHO) neglected tropical diseases portfolio, mostly affecting economically vulnerable populations without adequate sanitation and in close contact with infectious vectors. We present the report of a 59-year-old male patient, referred to the Hospital Geral Público de Palmas (HGPP) in December 2017, carrying a positive result from a direct parasitological detection test for Leishmania sp., in addition to multiple previously biopsied lesions caused by CMB. It was observed that the patient had an important improvement of the CMB lesions with the use of amphotericin B in combination with itraconazole, thus demonstrating the role that the former can play in the therapy of this fungal disease.   Keywords: Chromoblastomycosis; American Tegumentary leishmaniasis; Amphotericin B. RESUMO A cromoblastomicose (CBM) é uma doença fúngica polimórfica, que acomete normalmente os membros inferiores e que se manifesta como nódulos ou placas verrucosas que podem ulcerar. A leishmaniose tegumentar (LT) é uma doença infectoparasitária causada por protozoários digenéticos do gênero Leishmania sp. que acomete a pele e/ou mucosas do homem e de várias espécies de animais silvestres e domésticos. Ambas fazem parte do portfólio de doenças negligenciadas da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), afetando em sua maioria pessoas economicamente vulneráveis, sem saneamento adequado e em contato próximo com vetores infecciosos. Apresentamos neste trabalho o relato de um paciente, masculino, 59 anos, encaminhado ao Hospital Geral Público de Palmas (HGPP) em dezembro de 2017, portando exame parasitológico direto positivo para Leishmania sp., além de múltiplas lesões causadas por CBM previamente biopsiadas. Foi observado que o paciente teve importante melhora das lesões de CBM com uso da anfotericina B em associação ao itraconazol, demonstrando o papel que essa droga pode exercer na terapêutica desta doença fúngica. Palavras-chave: Cromoblastomicose; Leishmaniose Tegumentar; Anfotericina B

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

A social and ecological assessment of tropical land uses at multiple scales: the Sustainable Amazon Network

Science has a critical role to play in guiding more sustainable development trajectories. Here, we present the Sustainable Amazon Network (Rede Amazonia Sustentavel, RAS): a multidisciplinary research initiative involving more than 30 partner organizations working to assess both social and ecological dimensions of land-use sustainability in eastern Brazilian Amazonia. The research approach adopted by RAS offers three advantages for addressing land-use sustainability problems: (i) the collection of synchronized and co-located ecological and socioeconomic data across broad gradients of past and present human use; (ii) a nested sampling design to aid comparison of ecological and socioeconomic conditions associated with different land uses across local, landscape and regional scales; and (iii) a strong engagement with a wide variety of actors and non-research institutions. Here, we elaborate on these key features, and identify the ways in which RAS can help in highlighting those problems in most urgent need of attention, and in guiding improvements in land-use sustainability in Amazonia and elsewhere in the tropics. We also discuss some of the practical lessons, limitations and realities faced during the development of the RAS initiative so far.Keywords: Social–ecological systems, Tropical forests, Land use, Interdisciplinary research, Sustainability, Trade-off