Design of a case-based reasoner for information security in military organizations

Information security is concerned with the protection of information, which can be stored, processed or transmitted within critical information systems of the organizations, against loss of confidentiality, integrity or availability. Protection measures to prevent these problems result through the implementation of controls at several dimensions: technical, administrative or physical. A vital objective for military organizations is to ensure superiority in contexts of information warfare and competitive intelligence. Therefore, the problem of information security in military organizations has been a topic of intensive work at both national and transnational levels, and extensive conceptual and standardization work is being produced. A current effort is therefore to develop automated decision support systems to assist military decision makers, at different levels in the command chain, to provide suitable control measures that can effectively deal with potential attacks and, at the same time, prevent, detect and contain vulnerabilities targeted at their information systems. The concept and processes of the Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) methodology outstandingly resembles classical military processes and doctrine, in particular the analysis of ���lessons learned��� and definition of ���modes of action���. Therefore, the present paper addresses the modeling and design of a CBR system with two key objectives: to support an effective response in context of information security for military organizations; to allow for scenario planning and analysis for training and auditing processes.

Algorithms and tools for in silico design of cell factories

PhD thesis in Bioengineering

Using OpenFOAM to aid the design of complex profile extrusion dies

[Extrat] Thermoplastic profiles are very attractive due to their inherent design freedom. However, the usual methodologies employed to design extrusion forming tools, based on experimental based trial���and���error procedures, are highly dependent on the designer���s experience and lead to high resources consumption. Despite of the relatively low cost of the raw materials employed on the production of this type of profiles, the resources involved in the die design process significantly increase their cost. These difficulties are even more evident when a complex geometry profile has to be produced and there is no previous experience with similar geometries. Therefore, novel design approaches are required, in order to reduce the required resources and guarantee a good performance for the produced profile. (...)

Re-Design of ribbon for new applications

O conceito de qualidade de vida surge pela primeira vez em 1920, atrav��s do economista ingl��s Arthur Cecil Pigou, que utiliza este termo para descrever o impacto governamental sobre a vida das pessoas mais desfavorecidas. Com a instala����o de uma era industrializada e com o fim da 2�� Guerra Mundial, a sociedade mudou de paradigma e iniciou uma procura incessante de formas para melhorar a sua qualidade de vida. Este conceito desenvolve-se juntamente com o desenvolvimento do conceito de educa����o, sa��de, habita����o, transporte, trabalho e lazer, bem como indicadores do aumento da esperan��a de vida, a diminui����o da mortalidade infantil e dos n��veis de polui����o. O avan��o da tecnologia teve um papel fundamental para a evolu����o desses conceitos, bem como o Design na procura de solu����es para aplica����o dessas mesmas tecnologias. No caso concreto da ind��stria t��xtil, a tend��ncia �� o desenvolvimento de t��xteis inteligentes envolvendo a engenharia electr��nica no seu processo de conceptualiza����o e de fabrico. A chamada tecnologia wearable abre novos horizontes para a cria����o de solu����es inovadoras, abrindo novos nichos de mercado com elevado valor acrescentado. Existem atualmente v��rios produtos no mercado cuja funcionalidade e utilidade lhes conferiu um estatuto imut��vel ao longo dos anos, onde a evolu����o n��o avan��ou na tend��ncia atual. Esse �� o caso dos tecidos estreitos, cuja funcionalidade poder�� adquirir novas capacidades e ser utilizada em diferentes componentes t��xteis nas mais variadas ��reas. Essas capacidades poder��o ser acrescentadas pela incorpora����o de materiais com luminosidade (Led���s e L-Wire) nas suas estruturas. Neste estudo realizado o design de produtos com novas funcionalidades, adaptando as tecnologias at�� agora desenvolvidas em novas solu����es e/ou novas recria����es de produto.

Design of assemblies based on polymer-coated quantum dots and organic dye

During last years, photophysical properties of complexes of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) with organic dyes have attracted increasing interest. The development of different assemblies based on QDs and organic dyes allows to increase the range of QDs applications, which include imaging, biological sensing and electronic devices.1 Some studies demonstrate energy transfer between QDs and organic dye in assemblies.2 However, for electronic devices purposes, a polymeric matrix is required to enhance QDs photostability. Thus, in order to attach the QDs to the polymer surface it is necessary to chemically modify the polymer to induce electronic charges and stabilize the QDs in the polymer. The present work aims to investigate the design of assemblies based on polymer-coated QDs and an integrated acceptor organic dye. Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and polycarbonate (PC) were used as polymeric matrices, and nile red as acceptor. Additionally, a PMMA matrix modified with 2-mercaptoethylamine is used to improve the attachment between both the donor (QDs) and the acceptor (nile red), as well as to induce a covalent bond between the modified PMMA and the QDs. An enhancement of the energy transfer efficiency by using the modified PMMA is expected and the resulting assembly can be applied for energy harvesting.

Testing Nelder-Mead based repulsion algorithms for multiple roots of nonlinear systems via a two-level factorial design of experiments

This paper addresses the challenging task of computing multiple roots of a system of nonlinear equations. A repulsion algorithm that invokes the Nelder-Mead (N-M) local search method and uses a penalty-type merit function based on the error function, known as 'erf', is presented. In the N-M algorithm context, different strategies are proposed to enhance the quality of the solutions and improve the overall efficiency. The main goal of this paper is to use a two-level factorial design of experiments to analyze the statistical significance of the observed differences in selected performance criteria produced when testing different strategies in the N-M based repulsion algorithm. The main goal of this paper is to use a two-level factorial design of experiments to analyze the statistical significance of the observed differences in selected performance criteria produced when testing different strategies in the N-M based repulsion algorithm.

Smart interior design of buildings and its relationship to land use

Architectural design is often associated with aesthetics and style, but it is also very important to building performance and sustainability. There are some studies associating architectural design to the choice for materials from sustainable sources, to indoor air quality, to energy efficiency and productivity. This article takes a step further to analyse how the use of efficient interior design techniques can impact the habitable space in order to improve building sustainability in land use. Smart interior design, a current trend related to the use of efficient and flexible furniture and movable walls in tiny or compact apartments, is analysed. A building with a standard design is used as a case study reference building and compared to a proposed theoretical design alternative using smart interior design techniques. In order to correctly assess sustainability performance, a quantifiable and verified method is used. Results showed that the use of smart interior design techniques can greatly reduce buildings�� impact on the environment.

Design of mechatronic system for handling bedridden people

Disserta����o de mestrado em Engenharia Mecatr��nica

Systems biology approaches for the design of novel Saccharomyces cerevisiae winemaking strains for enhanced flavour compounds synthesis

Tese de Doutoramento em Biologia Ambiental e Molecular

Design of bio-based supramolecular structures through self-assembly of ��-lactalbumin and lysozyme

Bovine ��-lactalbumin (��-La) and lysozyme (Lys), two globular proteins with highly homologous tertiary structures and opposite isoelectric points, were used to produce bio-based supramolecular structures under various pH values (3, 7 and 11), temperatures (25, 50 and 75 ��C) and times (15, 25 and 35 min) of heating. Isothermal titration calorimetry experiments showed protein interactions and demonstrated that structures were obtained from the mixture of ��-La/Lys in molar ratio of 0.546. Structures were characterized in terms of morphology by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS), conformational structure by circular dichroism and intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy and stability by DLS. Results have shown that protein conformational structure and intermolecular interactions are controlled by the physicochemical conditions applied. The increase of heating temperature led to a significant decrease in size and polydispersity (PDI) of ��-La���Lys supramolecular structures, while the increase of heating time, particularly at temperatures above 50 ��C, promoted a significant increase in size and PDI. At pH 7 supramolecular structures were obtained at microscale ��� confirmed by optical microscopy ��� displaying also a high PDI (i.e. > 0.4). The minimum size and PDI (61 �� 2.3 nm and 0.14 �� 0.03, respectively) were produced at pH 11 for a heating treatment of 75 ��C for 15 min, thus suggesting that these conditions could be considered as critical for supramolecular structure formation. Its size and morphology were confirmed by TEM showing a well-defined spherical form. Structures at these conditions showed to be stable at least for 30 or 90 days, when stored at 25 or 4 ��C, respectively. Hence, ��-La���Lys supramolecular structures showed properties that indicate that they are a promising delivery system for food and pharmaceutical applications.

A design of experiments to assess phosphorous removal and crystal properties in struvite precipitation of source separated urine using different Mg sources

Supplementary data associated with this article can be found, in the online version, at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2016.03.148.