A JML-Based strategy for incorporating formal specifications into the software development process

This thesis presents a JML-based strategy that incorporates formal specifications into the software development process of object-oriented programs. The strategy evolves functional requirements into a “semi-formal” requirements form, and then expressing them as JML formal specifications. The strategy is implemented as a formal-specification pseudo-phase that runs in parallel with the other phase of software development. What makes our strategy different from other software development strategies used in literature is the particular use of JML specifications we make all along the way from requirements to validation-and-verification.

Goals Software Construction Process

Generalized hyper competitiveness in the world markets has determined the need to offer better products to potential and actual clients in order to mark an advantagefrom other competitors. To ensure the production of an adequate product, enterprises need to work on the efficiency and efficacy of their business processes (BPs) by means of the construction of Interactive Information Systems (IISs, including Interactive Multimedia Documents) so that they are processed more fluidly and correctly.The construction of the correct IIS is a major task that can only be successful if the needs from every intervenient are taken into account. Their requirements must bedefined with precision, extensively analyzed and consequently the system must be accurately designed in order to minimize implementation problems so that the IIS isproduced on schedule and with the fewer mistakes as possible. The main contribution of this thesis is the proposal of Goals, a software (engineering) construction process which aims at defining the tasks to be carried out in order to develop software. This process defines the stakeholders, the artifacts, and the techniques that should be applied to achieve correctness of the IIS. Complementarily, this process suggests two methodologies to be applied in the initial phases of the lifecycle of the Software Engineering process: Process Use Cases for the phase of requirements, and; MultiGoals for the phases of analysis and design. Process Use Cases is a UML-based (Unified Modeling Language), goal-driven and use case oriented methodology for the definition of functional requirements. It uses an information oriented strategy in order to identify BPs while constructing the enterprise’s information structure, and finalizes with the identification of use cases within the design of these BPs. This approach provides a useful tool for both activities of Business Process Management and Software Engineering. MultiGoals is a UML-based, use case-driven and architectural centric methodology for the analysis and design of IISs with support for Multimedia. It proposes the analysis of user tasks as the basis of the design of the: (i) user interface; (ii) the system behaviour that is modeled by means of patterns which can combine Multimedia and standard information, and; (iii) the database and media contents. This thesis makes the theoretic presentation of these approaches accompanied with examples from a real project which provide the necessary support for the understanding of the used techniques.

A new and improved strategy combining a dispersive-solid phase extraction-based multiclass method with ultra high pressure liquid chromatography for analysis of low molecular weight polyphenols in vegetables

This paper reports on the development and optimization of a modified Quick, Easy, Cheap Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) based extraction technique coupled with a clean-up dispersive-solid phase extraction (dSPE) as a new, reliable and powerful strategy to enhance the extraction efficiency of free low molecular-weight polyphenols in selected species of dietary vegetables. The process involves two simple steps. First, the homogenized samples are extracted and partitioned using an organic solvent and salt solution. Then, the supernatant is further extracted and cleaned using a dSPE technique. Final clear extracts of vegetables were concentrated under vacuum to near dryness and taken up into initial mobile phase (0.1% formic acid and 20% methanol). The separation and quantification of free low molecular weight polyphenols from the vegetable extracts was achieved by ultrahigh pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) equipped with a phodiode array (PDA) detection system and a Trifunctional High Strength Silica capillary analytical column (HSS T3), specially designed for polar compounds. The performance of the method was assessed by studying the selectivity, linear dynamic range, the limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ), precision, trueness, and matrix effects. The validation parameters of the method showed satisfactory figures of merit. Good linearity (View the MathML sourceRvalues2>0.954; (+)-catechin in carrot samples) was achieved at the studied concentration range. Reproducibility was better than 3%. Consistent recoveries of polyphenols ranging from 78.4 to 99.9% were observed when all target vegetable samples were spiked at two concentration levels, with relative standard deviations (RSDs, n = 5) lower than 2.9%. The LODs and the LOQs ranged from 0.005 μg mL−1 (trans-resveratrol, carrot) to 0.62 μg mL−1 (syringic acid, garlic) and from 0.016 μg mL−1 (trans-resveratrol, carrot) to 0.87 μg mL−1 ((+)-catechin, carrot) depending on the compound. The method was applied for studying the occurrence of free low molecular weight polyphenols in eight selected dietary vegetables (broccoli, tomato, carrot, garlic, onion, red pepper, green pepper and beetroot), providing a valuable and promising tool for food quality evaluation.