Applying TTCN to testing of Mobile IP

Diplomityö käsittelee ISO:n yhdenmukaisuustestin menetelmien sekä ISO-9646:n kehysten soveltamista Mobile IPv6 protokollan testauksessa. Mobile IPv6 protokollaa tarkastellaan määrittelyjen pohjalta, myös testien tärkeyttä ja tulosten johtamista käsitellään. Työssä käsitellän MSC:n (Message Sequence Charts) käyttöä testaustyössä mahdolliset edut huomioiden. TTCN kieli, testausmenetelmät ja OpenTTCN testauskone käsitellään. Testin kohteena olevien yhdyskäytävän ja palvelimen määrittelyt kuvataan. Osia abstract test suite :sta (ATS) esitellään esimerkin antamiseksi todellisesta sovelluksesta ja sen yhteydestä tehtyyn dokumenttiin.

Contrast : a concept in language and its development in Medieval Spanish

The purpose of this PhD thesis is to investigate a semantic relation present in the connection of sentences (more specifically: propositional units). This relation, which we refer to as contrast, includes the traditional categories of adversatives - predominantly represented by the connector but in English and pero in Modern Spanish - and concessives, prototypically verbalised through although / aunque. The aim is to describe, analyse and - as far as possible - to explain the emergence and evolution of different syntactic schemes marking contrast during the first three centuries of Spanish (also referred to as Castilian) as a literary language, i.e., from the 13th to the 15th century. The starting point of this question is a commonplace in syntax, whereby the semantic and syntactic complexity of clause linkage correlates with the degree of textual elaboration. In historical linguistics, i.e., applied to the phylogeny of a language, it is commonly referred to as the parataxis hypothesis A crucial part of the thesis is dedicated by the definition of contrast as a semantic relation. Although the label contrast has been used in this sense, mainly in functional grammar and text linguistics, mainstream grammaticography and linguistics remain attached to the traditional categories adversatives and concessives. In opposition to this traditional view, we present our own model of contrast, based on a pragma-semantic description proposed for the analysis of adversatives by Oswald Ducrot and subsequently adopted by Ekkehard König for the analysis of concessives. We refine and further develop this model in order for it to accommodate all, not just the prototypical instances of contrast in Spanish, arguing that the relationship between adversatives and concessives is a marked opposition, i.e., that the higher degree of semantic and syntactic integration of concessives restricts some possible readings that the adversatives may have, but that this difference is almost systematically neutralised by contextual factors, thus justifying the assumption of contrast as a comprehensive onomasiological category. This theoretical focus is completed by a state-of-the-question overview attempting to account for all relevant forms in which contrast is expressed in Medieval Spanish, with the aid of lexicographic and grammaticographical sources, and an empirical study investigating the expression of corpus in a corpus study on the textual functions of contrast in nine Medieval Spanish texts: Cantar de Mio Cid, Libro de Alexandre, Milagros de Nuestra Sehora, Estoria de Espana, Primera Partida, Lapidario, Libro de buen amor, Conde Lucanor, and Corbacho. This corpus is analysed using quantitative and qualitative tools, and the study is accompanied by a series of methodological remarks on how to investigate a pragma-semantic category in historical linguistics. The corpus study shows that the parataxis hypothesis fails to prove from a statistical viewpoint, although a qualitative analysis shows that the use of subordination does increase over time in some particular contexts.

Koulutustarvekartoitus henkilöstökoulutuksen suunnittelun apuvälineenä - Case: Etelä-Saimaan Sanomalehti Oy

Tutkielman päätavoitteena on selvittää kohdeyrityksen henkilöstön tämän hetkinen osaamistaso ja sitä myöten koulutustarve koulutustarvekartoitusta apuna käyttäen. Tarkoitus on antaa yritykselle suuntaviivoja ja ajatuksia siitä, minkälaisiin toimenpiteisiin olisi aiheellista ryhtyä henkilöstön osaamistason pitämiseksi riittävällä tasolla. Ennen tutkimustulosten esittelyä käsitellään henkilöstön kehittämistä ja erityisesti henkilöstökoulutusta kehittämismenetelmänä perustuen kirjalliseen lähdeaineistoon. Kyseessä on empiirinen tutkimus, joka perustuu Etelä-Saimaan Sanomalehti Oy:n henkilöstölle tehtyyn koulutustarvekartoitukseen ja yrityksen esimiehille tehtyihin henkilökohtaisiin haastatteluihin. Tehdessään pitkän tähtäyksen koulutussuunnitelmia, yritys voi ottaa lähtökohdaksi henkilöstön tämän hetkisen osaamisen tason. Kun huomioidaan yrityksen tulevaisuuden suunnitelmat ja strategiat, tiedetään, mihin toimintoihin tulevaisuudessa tullaan keskittymään ja minkälaista osaamista erityisesti tarvitaan. Nykyisen osaamistason selvittämiseen koulutustarvekartoitus tarjoaa oivallisen apuvälineen. Tulevat koulutushankkeet voidaan suunnitella kartoituksesta saatujen tietojen perusteella, jolloin jokaiselle yrityksen työntekijälle voidaan laatia henkilökohtainen koulutussuunnitelma. Ilmeni, että kohdeyrityksessä on koulutustarvetta; vaikka suurin osa kyselyyn osallistuneista tuntuu selviytyvän nykyisistä työtehtävistään kohtalaisen hyvin, joillakin alueilla olisi parantamisen varaa. Akuuteimmat koulutustarpeet kohdistuvat kielitaitoon, Internetin tehokkaampaan hyödyntämiseen sekä perustoimistojärjestelmien (Word, Excel) käyttöön.

Randomization tests for ABAB designs: Comparing-data-division-specific and common distributions

Monte Carlo simulations were used to generate data for ABAB designs of different lengths. The points of change in phase are randomly determined before gathering behaviour measurements, which allows the use of a randomization test as an analytic technique. Data simulation and analysis can be based either on data-division-specific or on common distributions. Following one method or another affects the results obtained after the randomization test has been applied. Therefore, the goal of the study was to examine these effects in more detail. The discrepancies in these approaches are obvious when data with zero treatment effect are considered and such approaches have implications for statistical power studies. Data-division-specific distributions provide more detailed information about the performance of the statistical technique.

Työnkulkukoneen soveltuvuus sähköisen huutokauppajärjestelmän toteutuksessa

Sähköiset huutokaupat ovat virtuaalisia markkinapaikkoja, jotka sijaitsevat jossain päin internetiä. Sähköistä huutokauppaa käydään yritysten välillä (B2B), yritysten ja kuluttajien välillä (B2C) sekä kuluttajien kesken (C2C). Tässä työssä sähköisellä huutokaupalla tarkoitetaan ensin mainittua, yritysten keskinäistä kaupankäyntiä. Työn tarkoituksena on tutkia työnkulkukoneen soveltuvuutta sähköisen huutokauppajärjestelmän moottorina. Työssä perehdytään avoimen lähdekoodin ActiveBPEL-koneeseen, ja tutkimus tapahtuu suunnittelemalla, mallintamalla ja testaamalla liiketoimintaprosessi, joka rekisteröi ostajan ja myyjän tiedot järjestelmään. Toteutettava prosessi on yksi osa sähköistä huutokauppaa, mutta saman periaatteen mukaisesti olisi mahdollista toteuttaa myös kokonainen huutokauppa. Tässä työssä tarkastellaan sähköistä huutokauppaa, joka perustuu web-palveluihin, ja jolla on selvä koordinaattori. Koordinaattori ohjaa toisia mukana olevia web-palveluja ja niiden ajettavia operaatioita. Korkean tason mallit kuvataan BPMN-notaation avulla, itse prosessi toteutetaan BPEL-kielellä. Prosessin mallinnuksessa ja simuloinnissa käytetään apuna ActiveBPEL Designer -ohjelmaa. Työn tavoitteena on paitsi toteuttaa osa huutokaupasta, myös antaa lukijalle käsitys siitä liiketoimintaympäristöstä, johon huutokauppa kuuluu, sekä valottaa huutokaupan taustalla olevia teknologioita. Erityisesti web-palvelut ja niihin liittyvät käsitteet tulevat lukijalle tutuiksi.

Selecting, testing and modifying a model for identifying potential key customers

Tämä työ tehtiin globaaliin elektroniikka-alan yritykseen. Diplomityö liittyy haasteeseen, jonka lisääntynyt globalisaatio ja kiristyvä kilpailu ovat luoneet: case yrityksen on selvitettävä kuinka se voi saavuttaa kasvutavoitteet myös tulevaisuudessa hankkimalla uusia asiakkaita ja olemalla yhä enenevissä määrin maailmanlaajuisesti läsnä. Tutkimuksen tavoite oli löytää sopiva malli potentiaalisten avainasiakkaiden identifiointiin ja valintaan, sekä testata ja modifioida valittua mallia case yrityksen tarpeiden mukaisesti. Erityisesti raakadatan kerääminen, asiakkaiden houkuttelevuuskriteerit ja kohdemarkkinarako olivat asioita, jotka tarvitsivat tutkimuksessa huomiota. Kirjallisuuskatsauksessa keskityttiin yritysmarkkinoihin, eri asiakassuhteenhallinnan lähestymistapoihin ja avainasiakkaiden määrittämiseen. CRM:n, KAM:n ja Customer Insight-ajattelun perusteet esiteltiin yhdessä eri avainasiakkaiden identifiointimallien kanssa. Valittua Chevertonin mallia testattiin ja muokattiin työn empiirisessä osassa. Tutkimuksen empiirinen kontribuutio on modifioitu malli potentiaalisten avainasiakkaiden identifiointiin. Se auttaa päätöksentekijöitä etenemään systemaattisesti ja organisoidusti askel askeleelta kohti potentiaalisten asiakkaiden listaa tietyltä markkina-alueelta. Työ tarjoaa työkalun tähän prosessiin sekä luo pohjaa tulevaisuuden tutkimukselle ja toimenpiteille.

Testing Local Adaptation in a Natural Great Tit-Malaria System: An Experimental Approach.

Finding out whether Plasmodium spp. are coevolving with their vertebrate hosts is of both theoretical and applied interest and can influence our understanding of the effects and dynamics of malaria infection. In this study, we tested for local adaptation as a signature of coevolution between malaria blood parasites, Plasmodium spp. and its host, the great tit, Parus major. We conducted a reciprocal transplant experiment of birds in the field, where we exposed birds from two populations to Plasmodium parasites. This experimental set-up also provided a unique opportunity to study the natural history of malaria infection in the wild and to assess the effects of primary malaria infection on juvenile birds. We present three main findings: i) there was no support for local adaptation; ii) there was a male-biased infection rate; iii) infection occurred towards the end of the summer and differed between sites. There were also site-specific effects of malaria infection on the hosts. Taken together, we present one of the few experimental studies of parasite-host local adaptation in a natural malaria system, and our results shed light on the effects of avian malaria infection in the wild.

PCI DSS -standardi ja sen vaatimukset kortinhaltijoiden tietojen suojaamiselle

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) on korttiyhtiöiden kehittämä kansainvälinen tietoturvastandardi, jonka tarkoituksena on parantaa kortinhaltijoiden tietoja käsittelevien järjestelmien tietoturvaa. Standardissa määritellään vaatimukset tietojen turvalliselle tallennukselle ja käsittelylle, testaus- ja tarkastusmenetelmät sekä tarkastusvaatimukset ja tarkastuksia suorittavien tahojen sertifiointi. Standardi koskee kaikkia standardin hyväksyneiden maksukorttiyhtiöiden korttitietoja käsitteleviä tahoja. Standardin ylläpitämisestä ja kehittämisestä vastaa maksukorttiyhtiöiden perustama PCI Security Standards Council -toimielin. Syyskuussa 2006 toimielin julkaisi standardista version 1.1, joka on edelleen viimeisin versio. Tässä diplomityössä selvitettiin PCI DSS -standardin asettamat vaatimukset kortinhaltijoiden tietoja käsitteleville tahoille. Lisäksi tutkittiin mahdollisuuksia toteuttaa yksi standardin vaatimuksista, kortinhaltijoiden tietojen suojaaminen, esimerkkijärjestelmässä. Kyseinen järjestelmä on kehitetty IBM System i -palvelinympäristöön käyttäen RPG-ohjelmointikieltä.

Validity of silhouette showcards as a measure of body size and obesity in a population in the African region : a practical research tool for general-purpose surveys.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to validate the Pulvers silhouette showcard as a measure of weight status in a population in the African region. This tool is particularly beneficial when scarce resources do not allow for direct anthropometric measurements due to limited survey time or lack of measurement technology in face-to-face general-purpose surveys or in mailed, online, or mobile device-based surveys. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Republic of Seychelles with a sample of 1240 adults. We compared self-reported body sizes measured by Pulvers' silhouette showcards to four measurements of body size and adiposity: body mass index (BMI), body fat percent measured, waist circumference, and waist to height ratio. The accuracy of silhouettes as an obesity indicator was examined using sex-specific receiver operator curve (ROC) analysis and the reliability of this tool to detect socioeconomic gradients in obesity was compared to BMI-based measurements. RESULTS: Our study supports silhouette body size showcards as a valid and reliable survey tool to measure self-reported body size and adiposity in an African population. The mean correlation coefficients of self-reported silhouettes with measured BMI were 0.80 in men and 0.81 in women (P < 0.001). The silhouette showcards also showed high accuracy for detecting obesity as per a BMI ≥ 30 (Area under curve, AUC: 0.91/0.89, SE: 0.01), which was comparable to other measured adiposity indicators: fat percent (AUC: 0.94/0.94, SE: 0.01), waist circumference (AUC: 0.95/0.94, SE: 0.01), and waist to height ratio (AUC: 0.95/0.94, SE: 0.01) amongst men and women, respectively. The use of silhouettes in detecting obesity differences among different socioeconomic groups resulted in similar magnitude, direction, and significance of association between obesity and socioeconomic status as when using measured BMI. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the validity and reliability of silhouettes as a survey tool for measuring obesity in a population in the African region. The ease of use and cost-effectiveness of this tool makes it an attractive alternative to measured BMI in the design of non-face-to-face online- or mobile device-based surveys as well as in-person general-purpose surveys of obesity in social sciences, where limited resources do not allow for direct anthropometric measurements.

Reuse of information for selection of methods and operating conditions for drying of pharmaceutical materials

Drying is a major step in the manufacturing process in pharmaceutical industries, and the selection of dryer and operating conditions are sometimes a bottleneck. In spite of difficulties, the bottlenecks are taken care of with utmost care due to good manufacturing practices (GMP) and industries' image in the global market. The purpose of this work is to research the use of existing knowledge for the selection of dryer and its operating conditions for drying of pharmaceutical materials with the help of methods like case-based reasoning and decision trees to reduce time and expenditure for research. The work consisted of two major parts as follows: Literature survey on the theories of spray dying, case-based reasoning and decision trees; working part includes data acquisition and testing of the models based on existing and upgraded data. Testing resulted in a combination of two models, case-based reasoning and decision trees, leading to more specific results when compared to conventional methods.

Association of Hematological Variables with Team-Sport Specific Fitness Performance.

PURPOSE: We investigated association of hematological variables with specific fitness performance in elite team-sport players. METHODS: Hemoglobin mass (Hbmass) was measured in 25 elite field hockey players using the optimized (2 min) CO-rebreathing method. Hemoglobin concentration ([Hb]), hematocrit and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were analyzed in venous blood. Fitness performance evaluation included a repeated-sprint ability (RSA) test (8 x 20 m sprints, 20 s of rest) and the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery level 2 (YYIR2). RESULTS: Hbmass was largely correlated (r = 0.62, P<0.01) with YYIR2 total distance covered (YYIR2TD) but not with any RSA-derived parameters (r ranging from -0.06 to -0.32; all P>0.05). [Hb] and MCHC displayed moderate correlations with both YYIR2TD (r = 0.44 and 0.41; both P<0.01) and RSA sprint decrement score (r = -0.41 and -0.44; both P<0.05). YYIR2TD correlated with RSA best and total sprint times (r = -0.46, P<0.05 and -0.60, P<0.01; respectively), but not with RSA sprint decrement score (r = -0.19, P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Hbmass is positively correlated with specific aerobic fitness, but not with RSA, in elite team-sport players. Additionally, the negative relationships between YYIR2 and RSA tests performance imply that different hematological mechanisms may be at play. Overall, these results indicate that these two fitness tests should not be used interchangeably as they reflect different hematological mechanisms.

Use of asthma medication during pregnancy and risk of specific congenital anomalies: A European case-malformed control study.

BACKGROUND: Pregnant women with asthma need to take medication during pregnancy. OBJECTIVE: We sought to identify whether there is an increased risk of specific congenital anomalies after exposure to antiasthma medication in the first trimester of pregnancy. METHODS: We performed a population-based case-malformed control study testing signals identified in a literature review. Odds ratios (ORs) of exposure to the main groups of asthma medication were calculated for each of the 10 signal anomalies compared with registrations with nonchromosomal, nonsignal anomalies as control registrations. In addition, exploratory analyses were done for each nonsignal anomaly. The data set included 76,249 registrations of congenital anomalies from 13 EUROmediCAT registries. RESULTS: Cleft palate (OR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.05-2.52) and gastroschisis (OR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.12-3.20) had significantly increased odds of exposure to first-trimester use of inhaled β2-agonists compared with nonchromosomal control registrations. Odds of exposure to salbutamol were similar. Nonsignificant ORs of exposure to inhaled β2-agonists were found for spina bifida, cleft lip, anal atresia, severe congenital heart defects in general, or tetralogy of Fallot. None of the 4 literature signals of exposure to inhaled steroids were confirmed (cleft palate, cleft lip, anal atresia, and hypospadias). Exploratory analyses found an association between renal dysplasia and exposure to the combination of long-acting β2-agonists and inhaled corticosteroids (OR, 3.95; 95% CI, 1.99-7.85). CONCLUSIONS: The study confirmed increased odds of first-trimester exposure to inhaled β2-agonists for cleft palate and gastroschisis and found a potential new signal for renal dysplasia associated with combined long-acting β2-agonists and inhaled corticosteroids. Use of inhaled corticosteroids during the first trimester of pregnancy seems to be safe in relation to the risk for a range of specific major congenital anomalies.

Dustiness and deagglomeration testing: interlaboratory comparison of systems for nanoparticle powders

Different types of aerosolization and deagglomeration testing systems exist for studying the properties of nanomaterial powders and their aerosols. However, results are dependent on the specific methods used. In order to have well-characterized aerosols, we require a better understanding of how system parameters and testing conditions influence the properties of the aerosols generated. In the present study, four experimental setups delivering different aerosolization energies were used to test the resultant aerosols of two distinct nanomaterials (hydrophobic and hydrophilic TiO2). The reproducibility of results within each system was good. However, the number concentrations and size distributions of the aerosols created varied across the four systems; for number concentrations, e.g., from 10(3) to 10(6) #/cm(3). Moreover, distinct differences were also observed between the two materials with different surface coatings. The article discusses how system characteristics and other pertinent conditions modify the test results. We propose using air velocity as a suitable proxy for estimating energy input levels in aerosolization systems. The information derived from this work will be especially useful for establishing standard operating procedures for testing nanopowders, as well as for estimating their release rates under different energy input conditions, which is relevant for occupational exposure.

Comparing Etest and Broth Microdilution for Antifungal Susceptibility Testing of the Most-Relevant Pathogenic Molds.

Invasive mold infections are life-threatening diseases for which appropriate antifungal therapy is crucial. Their epidemiology is evolving, with the emergence of triazole-resistant Aspergillus spp. and multidrug-resistant non-Aspergillus molds. Despite the lack of interpretive criteria, antifungal susceptibility testing of molds may be useful in guiding antifungal therapy. The standard broth microdilution method (BMD) is demanding and requires expertise. We assessed the performance of a commercialized gradient diffusion method (Etest method) as an alternative to BMD. The MICs or minimal effective concentrations (MECs) of amphotericin B, voriconazole, posaconazole, caspofungin, and micafungin were assessed for 290 clinical isolates of the most representative pathogenic molds (154 Aspergillus and 136 non-Aspergillus isolates) with the BMD and Etest methods. Essential agreements (EAs) within ±2 dilutions of ≥90% between the two methods were considered acceptable. EAs for amphotericin B and voriconazole were >90% for most potentially susceptible species. For posaconazole, the correlation was acceptable for Mucoromycotina but Etest MIC values were consistently lower for Aspergillus spp. (EAs of <90%). Excellent EAs were found for echinocandins with highly susceptible (MECs of <0.015 μg/ml) or intrinsically resistant (MECs of >16 μg/ml) strains. However, MEC determinations lacked consistency between methods for strains exhibiting mid-range MECs for echinocandins. We concluded that the Etest method is an appropriate alternative to BMD for antifungal susceptibility testing of molds under specific circumstances, including testing with amphotericin B or triazoles for non-Aspergillus molds (Mucoromycotina and Fusarium spp.). Additional study of molecularly characterized triazole-resistant Aspergillus isolates is required to confirm the ability of the Etest method to detect voriconazole and posaconazole resistance among Aspergillus spp.

The application of communicative language teaching : a particular case in a polish primary school

L’objectiu d’aquest estudi és examinar si l’Ensenyament Comunicatiu de la Llengua és usat per les mestres quan duen a terme classes d’anglès com a llengua estrangera en una escola de primària polonesa, amb un context educatiu especial. Aquesta recerca qualitativa analitza cinc conjunts principals d’informació relacionats amb l’ensenyament de la llengua estrangera que caracteritzen l’enfocament de l’Ensenyament Comunicatiu de la Llengua i que estan centrats en: el coneixement i les creences dels mestres sobre l’enfocament de l’Ensenyament Comunicatiu de la Llengua; l’ús de la llengua; els aspectes de la llengua anglesa que s’ensenyen; les característiques de les activitats: i el procés d’ensenyament. Per aquest objectiu, s’ha proporcionat un qüestionari a cada mestra d’anglès i s’han portat a terme algunes observacions d’aula per tal de recollir dades, analitzar-les i extreure’n unes conclusions. Els resultats de la investigació mostren que les mestres d’anglès donen bastant suport a l’enfocament de l’Ensenyament Comunicatiu de la Llengua, així com apliquen força sovint els seus trets característics quan porten a terme les classes.