Conceptual-physical bridging – From BPMN models to physical implementations on kettle

Developing and implementing data-oriented workflows for data migration processes are complex tasks involving several problems related to the integration of data coming from different schemas. Usually, they involve very specific requirements - every process is almost unique. Having a way to abstract their representation will help us to better understand and validate them with business users, which is a crucial step for requirements validation. In this demo we present an approach that provides a way to enrich incrementally conceptual models in order to support an automatic way for producing their correspondent physical implementation. In this demo we will show how B2K (Business to Kettle) system works transforming BPMN 2.0 conceptual models into Kettle data-integration executable processes, approaching the most relevant aspects related to model design and enrichment, model to system transformation, and system execution.

Exploração de dados para soluções de retalho em business intelligence

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia de Gestão e Sistemas de Informação

O Direito de Arrependimento do consumidor nos contratos celebrados à distância: um estudo de Direito Comparado

Dissertação de mestrado em Direito dos Contratos e da Empresa

ADSNARK: Nearly practical and privacy-preserving proofs on authenticated data

We study the problem of privacy-preserving proofs on authenticated data, where a party receives data from a trusted source and is requested to prove computations over the data to third parties in a correct and private way, i.e., the third party learns no information on the data but is still assured that the claimed proof is valid. Our work particularly focuses on the challenging requirement that the third party should be able to verify the validity with respect to the specific data authenticated by the source — even without having access to that source. This problem is motivated by various scenarios emerging from several application areas such as wearable computing, smart metering, or general business-to-business interactions. Furthermore, these applications also demand any meaningful solution to satisfy additional properties related to usability and scalability. In this paper, we formalize the above three-party model, discuss concrete application scenarios, and then we design, build, and evaluate ADSNARK, a nearly practical system for proving arbitrary computations over authenticated data in a privacy-preserving manner. ADSNARK improves significantly over state-of-the-art solutions for this model. For instance, compared to corresponding solutions based on Pinocchio (Oakland’13), ADSNARK achieves up to 25× improvement in proof-computation time and a 20× reduction in prover storage space.

Removal of ochratoxin A from contaminated white and red wines using oenological fining agents

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by certain moulds, being ochratoxin A (OTA) one of the most relevant. Its chemical structure is a dihydro-isocoumarin connected at the 7-carboxy group to a molecule of L--phenylalanine via an amide bond. OTA contamination of wines might be a risk to consumer health, thus requiring treatments to achieve acceptable standards for human consumption [1]. According to the Regulation No. 1881/2006 of the European Commission, the maximum limit for OTA in wine is 2 µg/kg [2]. Therefore, the aim of this work was to know the effect of different fining agents on OTA removal, as well as their impact on white and red wine physicochemical characteristics. To evaluate their efficiency, 11 commercial fining agents (mineral, synthetic, animal and vegetable proteins) were used to get new approaches on OTA removal from white and red wines. Trials were performed in wines artificially supplemented (at a final concentration of 10 µg/L) with OTA. The most effective fining agent in removing OTA (80%) from white wine was a commercial formulation that contains gelatine, bentonite and activated carbon. Removals between 10-30% were obtained with potassium caseinate, yeast cell walls and pea protein. With bentonites, carboxymethylcellulose, polyvinylpolypyrrolidone and chitosan no considerable OTA removal was verified. In red wine, removals between 6-19% were obtained with egg albumin, yeast cell walls, pea protein, isinglass, gelatine, polyvinylpolypyrrolidone and chitosan. The most effective fining agents in removing OTA from red wine were an activated carbon (66%) followed again by the commercial formulation (55%), being activated carbon a well-known adsorbent of mycotoxins. These results may provide useful information for winemakers, namely for the selection of the most appropriate oenological product for OTA removal, reducing wine toxicity and simultaneously enhancing food safety and wine quality.

Analytical evaluation of fining treatments for white wines contaminated by Ochratoxin A

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by certain molds. Ochratoxin A (OTA) is one of the most relevant. Its chemical structure is a dihydro-isocoumarin connected at the 7-carboxy group to a molecule of L--phenylalanine via an amide bond. OTA in wine is a risk to consumer health [1]. According to the Regulation No. 123/2005 of the European Commission, the maximum limit for OTA in wine is 2 µg/kg [2]. Then, it is important to control its occurrence. So, the aim of this work was to know the effect of different fining agents on OTA removal from white wine.

Food safety in wine: removal of ochratoxin A in contaminated white wine using commercial fining agents

The presence of mycotoxins in foodstuff is a matter of concern for food safety. Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by certain molds, being ochratoxin A (OTA) one of the most relevant. Wines can also be contaminated with these toxicants. Several authors have demonstrated the presence of mycotoxins in wine, especially ochratoxin A (OTA) [1]. Its chemical structure is a dihydro-isocoumarin connected at the 7-carboxy group to a molecule of L--phenylalanine via an amide bond. As these toxicants can never be completely removed from the food chain, many countries have defined levels in food in order to attend health concerns. OTA contamination of wines might be a risk to consumer health, thus requiring treatments to achieve acceptable standards for human consumption [2]. The maximum acceptable level of OTA in wines is 2.0 g/kg according to the Commission regulation No. 1881/2006 [3]. Therefore, the aim of this work was to reduce OTA to safer levels using different fining agents, as well as their impact on white wine physicochemical characteristics. To evaluate their efficiency, 11 commercial fining agents (mineral, synthetic, animal and vegetable proteins) were used to get new approaches on OTA removal from white wine. Trials (including a control without addition of a fining agent) were performed in white wine artificially supplemented with OTA (10 µg/L). OTA analysis were performed after wine fining. Wine was centrifuged at 4000 rpm for 10 min and 1 mL of the supernatant was collected and added of an equal volume of acetonitrile/methanol/acetic acid (78:20:2 v/v/v). Also, the solid fractions obtained after fining, were centrifuged (4000 rpm, 15 min), the resulting supernatant discarded, and the pellet extracted with 1 mL of the above solution and 1 mL of H2O. OTA analysis was performed by HPLC with fluorescence detection according to Abrunhosa and Venâncio [4]. The most effective fining agent in removing OTA (80%) from white wine was a commercial formulation that contains gelatine, bentonite and activated carbon. Removals between 10-30% were obtained with potassium caseinate, yeast cell walls and pea protein. With bentonites, carboxymethylcellulose, polyvinylpolypyrrolidone and chitosan no considerable OTA removal was verified. Following, the effectiveness of seven commercial activated carbons was also evaluated and compared with the commercial formulation that contains gelatine, bentonite and activated carbon. The different activated carbons were applied at the concentration recommended by the manufacturer in order to evaluate their efficiency in reducing OTA levels. Trial and OTA analysis were performed as explained previously. The results showed that in white wine all activated carbons except one reduced 100% of OTA. The commercial formulation that contains gelatine, bentonite and activated carbon (C8) reduced only 73% of OTA concentration. These results may provide useful information for winemakers, namely for the selection of the most appropriate oenological product for OTA removal, reducing wine toxicity and simultaneously enhancing food safety and wine quality.

[An editorial to] Recent Advances on Knowledge Discovery and Business Intelligence

Special issue guest editorial, June, 2015.

Business intelligence in banking: A literature analysis from 2002 to 2013 using Text Mining and latent Dirichlet allocation

telligence applications for the banking industry. Searches were performed in relevant journals resulting in 219 articles published between 2002 and 2013. To analyze such a large number of manuscripts, text mining techniques were used in pursuit for relevant terms on both business intelligence and banking domains. Moreover, the latent Dirichlet allocation modeling was used in or- der to group articles in several relevant topics. The analysis was conducted using a dictionary of terms belonging to both banking and business intelli- gence domains. Such procedure allowed for the identification of relationships between terms and topics grouping articles, enabling to emerge hypotheses regarding research directions. To confirm such hypotheses, relevant articles were collected and scrutinized, allowing to validate the text mining proce- dure. The results show that credit in banking is clearly the main application trend, particularly predicting risk and thus supporting credit approval or de- nial. There is also a relevant interest in bankruptcy and fraud prediction. Customer retention seems to be associated, although weakly, with targeting, justifying bank offers to reduce churn. In addition, a large number of ar- ticles focused more on business intelligence techniques and its applications, using the banking industry just for evaluation, thus, not clearly acclaiming for benefits in the banking business. By identifying these current research topics, this study also highlights opportunities for future research.

From a NoSQL data source to a business intelligence solution: An experiment

We are living in the era of Big Data. A time which is characterized by the continuous creation of vast amounts of data, originated from different sources, and with different formats. First, with the rise of the social networks and, more recently, with the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT), in which everyone and (eventually) everything is linked to the Internet, data with enormous potential for organizations is being continuously generated. In order to be more competitive, organizations want to access and explore all the richness that is present in those data. Indeed, Big Data is only as valuable as the insights organizations gather from it to make better decisions, which is the main goal of Business Intelligence. In this paper we describe an experiment in which data obtained from a NoSQL data source (database technology explicitly developed to deal with the specificities of Big Data) is used to feed a Business Intelligence solution.

Pervasive business intelligence platform to improve the quality of decision process in primary and secondary education – A Portuguese case study

Business Intelligence (BI) can be seen as a method that gathers information and data from information systems in order to help companies to be more accurate in their decision-making process. Traditionally BI systems were associated with the use of Data Warehouses (DW). The prime purpose of DW is to serve as a repository that stores all the relevant information required for making the correct decision. The necessity to integrate streaming data became crucial with the need to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the decision process. In primary and secondary education, there is a lack of BI solutions. Due to the schools reality the main purpose of this study is to provide a Pervasive BI solution able to monitoring the schools and student data anywhere and anytime in real-time as well as disseminating the information through ubiquitous devices. The first task consisted in gathering data regarding the different choices made by the student since his enrolment in a certain school year until the end of it. Thereafter a dimensional model was developed in order to be possible building a BI platform. This paper presents the dimensional model, a set of pre-defined indicators, the Pervasive Business Intelligence characteristics and the prototype designed. The main contribution of this study was to offer to the schools a tool that could help them to make accurate decisions in real-time. Data dissemination was achieved through a localized application that can be accessed anywhere and anytime.

Step towards to improve the voluntary interruption of pregnancy by means of business intelligence

With the implementation of Information and Communication Technologies in the health sector, it became possible the existence of an electronic record of information for patients, enabling the storage and the availability of their information in databases. However, without the implementation of a Business Intelligence (BI) system, this information has no value. Thus, the major motivation of this paper is to create a decision support system that allows the transformation of information into knowledge, giving usability to the stored data. The particular case addressed in this chapter is the Centro Materno Infantil do Norte, in particular the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy unit. With the creation of a BI system for this module, it is possible to design an interoperable, pervasive and real-time platform to support the decision-making process of health professionals, based on cases that occurred. Furthermore, this platform enables the automation of the process for obtaining key performance indicators that are presented annually by this health institution. In this chapter, the BI system implemented in the VIP unity in CMIN, some of the KPIs evaluated as well as the benefits of this implementation are presented.

Contribution to an efficient transmission of information to the textile fashion consumer and the influence in sustainable attitudes

The concepts involved in sustainable textile fashion, demanding good knowledge about raw materials, processes, end use properties and circuits amongst others, are able to determine the way the textile product is designed and the behavior of the consumer, regarding life style and buying decisions. The textile product`s life integrates raw materials, their processing, distribution, use by the consumer and destination of the product after useful lifetime, this is, his complete life cycle. It is very important to recognize the power of the consumer to influence parameters related to sustainability, namely when he decides how, when and why he buys and afterwards by the attitudes taken during and after use. The conscious act of consumption involves ethical, ecological and technical knowledge in which the concern is overall lifecycle of the fashion product and not exclusively aesthetic and symbolic values strongly related with its ephemeral nature. The present work proposes the classification of textile products by means of an innovative label aiming to establish a rating related to the Life of Fashion Products, by using parameters considered with especial impact in lifecycle, as textile fibers, processing conditions, generated wastes, commercialization circuits, durability and cleaning procedures. This label for sustainable fashion products aims to assist the stakeholders with informed attitudes and correct decisions in order to promote the objectives of sustainable fashion near designers, consumers and industrial experts.