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.

Systematic design analysis and risk management on engineered nanoparticles occupational exposure

The production of nanotechnology-based products is increasing, along with the conscience of the possible harmful effects of some nanomaterials. The “safety-by-design” approaches are getting attention as helpful tools to develop safer products and production processes. The Systematic Design Analysis Approach could help to identify the solutions to control the workplace risks by defining the emission and exposure scenarios and the possible barriers to interrupt them. By applying this approach in a photocatalytic ceramic tiles development project it was possible to identify relevant nanoparticles emission scenarios and related barriers, and defining possible ways to reduce it.

Using relational algebra on the specification of real world ETL processes

Modeling Extract-Transform-Load (ETL) processes of a Data Warehousing System has always been a challenge. The heterogeneity of the sources, the quality of the data obtained and the conciliation process are some of the issues that must be addressed in the design phase of this critical component. Commercial ETL tools often provide proprietary diagrammatic components and modeling languages that are not standard, thus not providing the ideal separation between a modeling platform and an execution platform. This separation in conjunction with the use of standard notations and languages is critical in a system that tends to evolve through time and which cannot be undermined by a normally expensive tool that becomes an unsatisfactory component. In this paper we demonstrate the application of Relational Algebra as a modeling language of an ETL system as an effort to standardize operations and provide a basis for uncommon ETL execution platforms.

Algorithms and tools for in silico design of cell factories

PhD thesis in Bioengineering

Design and validation of a biomechanical bioreactor for cartilage tissue culture

Specific tissues, such as cartilage undergo mechanical solicitation under their normal performance in human body. In this sense, it seems necessary that proper tissue engineering strategies of these tissues should incorporate mechanical solicitations during cell culture, in order to properly evaluate the influence of the mechanical stimulus. This work reports on a user-friendly bioreactor suitable for applying controlled mechanical stimulation - amplitude and frequency - to three dimensional scaffolds. Its design and main components are described, as well as its operation characteristics. The modular design allows easy cleaning and operating under laminar hood. Different protocols for the sterilization of the hermetic enclosure are tested and ensure lack of observable contaminations, complying with the requirements to be used for cell culture. The cell viability study was performed with KUM5 cells.

Sustentabilidade no Design: uma abordagem aos resíduos limpos das indústrias do calçado

Dissertação de mestrado em Design e Marketing

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

Bovine α-lactalbumin (α-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 α-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 α-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, α-La–Lys supramolecular structures showed properties that indicate that they are a promising delivery system for food and pharmaceutical applications.