The role of coordination analysis in software integration projects

What sort of component coordination strategies emerge in a software integration process? How can such strategies be discovered and further analysed? How close are they to the coordination component of the envisaged architectural model which was supposed to guide the integration process? This paper introduces a framework in which such questions can be discussed and illustrates its use by describing part of a real case-study. The approach is based on a methodology which enables semi-automatic discovery of coordination patterns from source code, combining generalized slicing techniques and graph manipulation

Extracting and verifying coordination models from source code

Current software development relies increasingly on non-trivial coordination logic for com- bining autonomous services often running on di erent platforms. As a rule, however, in typical non-trivial software systems, such a coordination layer is strongly weaved within the application at source code level. Therefore, its precise identi cation becomes a major methodological (and technical) problem which cannot be overestimated along any program understanding or refactoring process. Open access to source code, as granted in OSS certi cation, provides an opportunity for the devel- opment of methods and technologies to extract, from source code, the relevant coordination information. This paper is a step in this direction, combining a number of program analysis techniques to automatically recover coordination information from legacy code. Such information is then expressed as a model in Orc, a general purpose orchestration language

Synthesis and Coordination Chemistry of a New N-4-Polydentate Class of Pyridyl-Functionalized Scorpionate Ligands: Complexes of Fe-II, Zn-II, V-IV, Pd-II and Use for Heterobimetallic Systems

The new potentially N-4-multidentate pyridyl-functionalized scorpionates 4-((tris-2,2,2-(pyrazol-1-ypethoxy)methyl)pyridine (TpmPy, (1)) and 4-((tris-2,2,2-(3-phenylpyrazol-1-yl)ethoxy)methyl)pyridine (TpmPy(Ph), (2)) have been synthesized and their coordination behavior toward Fe-II, Ni-II, Zn-II, Cu-II, Pd-II, and V-III centers has been studied. Reaction of (1) with Fe(BF4)(2)center dot 6H(2)O yields [Fe(TpmPy)(2)](BF4)(2) (3), that, in the solid state, shows the sandwich structure with trihapto ligand coordination via the pyrazolyl arms, and is completely low spin (LS) until 400 K. Reactions of 2 equiv of (1) or (2) with Zn-II or Ni-II chlorides give the corresponding metal complexes with general formula [MCl2(TpmPy*)(2)] (M = Zn, Ni; TpmPy* = TpmPy, TpmPy(Ph)) (4-7) where the ligand is able to coordinate through either the pyrazolyl rings (in case of [Ni(TpmPy)(2)Cl-2 (5)) or the pyridyl-side (for [ZnCl2(TpmPy)(2)] (4), [ZnCl2(TpmPy(Ph))(2)] (6) and [NiCl2(TpmPy(Ph))(2)] (7)). The reaction of (1) with VCl3 gives [VOCl2(TpmPy)] (8) that shows the N-3-pyrazolyl coordination-mode. Moreover, (1) and react with cis-[PdCl2(CH3CN)(2)] to give the disubstituted complexes [PdCl2(TprnPy)(2)] (9) and [PdCl2(TpmPy(Ph))(2)] (10), respectively, bearing the scorpionate coordinated via the pyridyl group. Compounds (9) and (10) react with Fe(BF4)(2) to give the heterobimetallic Pd/Fe systems [PdCl2(mu-TpmPy)(2)-Fe](BF4)(2) (11) and [PdCl2(mu-TpmPy(Ph))(2)Fe-2(H2O)(6)]BF4)(4) (13), respectively. Compound (11) can also be formed from reaction of (3) with cis-[PdCl2(CH3CN)(2)], while reaction of (3) with Cu(NO3)(2).2.5H(2)O generates [Fe(mu-TpmPy)(2)-Cu(NO3)(2)](BF4)(2) (12), confirming the multidentate ability of the new chelating ligands. The X-ray diffraction analyses of compounds (1), (3), (4), (5), and (9) are also reported.

Coordination Chemistry of the (eta(6)-p-Cymene)ruthenium(II) Fragment with Bis-, Tris-, andTetrakis(pyrazol-1-yl)borate Ligands: Synthesis, Structural, Electrochemical, and CatalyticDiastereoselective Nitroaldol Reaction Studies

Novel [Ru(eta(6)-p-cymene)(kappa(2)-L)X] and [Ru(eta(6)-p-cymene)(kappa(3)-L)]X center dot nH(2)O complexes (L = bis-, tris-, or tetrakis-pyrazolylborate; X = Cl, N-3, PF6, or CF3SO3) are prepared by treatment of [Ru(eta(6)-p-cymene)Cl-2](2) with poly-(pyrazolyl)borate derivatives [M(L)] (L in general; in detail L = Ph(2)Bp = diphenylbis-(pyrazol-1-yl)borate; L = Tp = hydrotris(pyrazol-1-yl)borate; L = pzTp = tetrakis(pyrazol-1-yl)borate; L = Tp(4Bo) = hydrotris(indazol-1-yl)borate, L = T-p4Bo,T-5Me = (5-methylindazol-1-yl)borate; L = Tp(Bn,4Ph) = hydrotris(3-benzyl-4-phenylpyrazol-1-yl)borate; M = Na, K, or TI) and characterized by analytical and spectral data (IR, ESIMS, H-1 and C-13 NMR). The structures of [Ru(eta(6)-p-cymene)(Ph(2)Bp)Cl] (1) and [Ru(eta(6)-p-cymene)(Tp)Cl] (3) have been established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Electrochemical studies allowed comparing the electron-donor characters of Tp and related ligands and estimating the corresponding values of the Lever E-L ligand parameter. The complexes [Ru(eta(6)-p-cymene)-(kappa(2)-L)X] and [Ru(eta(6)-p-cymene)(kappa(3)-L)]X center dot nH(2)O act as catalyst precursors for the diastereoselective nitroaldol reaction of benzaldehyde and nitroethane to the corresponding beta-nitroalkanol (up to 82% yield, at room temperature) with diastereoselectivity toward the formation of the threo isomer.

Coordination between mid-term maintenance outage decisions and short-term security-constrained scheduling in smart distribution systems

Distribution systems are the first volunteers experiencing the benefits of smart grids. The smart grid concept impacts the internal legislation and standards in grid-connected and isolated distribution systems. Demand side management, the main feature of smart grids, acquires clear meaning in low voltage distribution systems. In these networks, various coordination procedures are required between domestic, commercial and industrial consumers, producers and the system operator. Obviously, the technical basis for bidirectional communication is the prerequisite of developing such a coordination procedure. The main coordination is required when the operator tries to dispatch the producers according to their own preferences without neglecting its inherent responsibility. Maintenance decisions are first determined by generating companies, and then the operator has to check and probably modify them for final approval. In this paper the generation scheduling from the viewpoint of a distribution system operator (DSO) is formulated. The traditional task of the DSO is securing network reliability and quality. The effectiveness of the proposed method is assessed by applying it to a 6-bus and 9-bus distribution system.

Interlimb coordination during the stance phase of gait in subjects with stroke

Objective: To analyze the relation between contralesional and ipsilesional limbs in subjects with stroke during step-to-step transition of walking. Design: Observational, transversal, analytical study with a convenience sample. Setting: Physical medicine and rehabilitation clinic. Participants: Subjects (nZ16) with poststroke hemiparesis with the ability to walk independently and healthy controls (nZ22). Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Bilateral lower limbs electromyographic activity of the soleus (SOL), gastrocnemius medialis, tibialis anterior, biceps femoris, rectus femoris, and vastus medialis (VM) muscles and the ground reaction force were analyzed during double-support and terminal stance phases of gait. Results: The propulsive impulse of the contralesional trailing limb was negatively correlated with the braking impulse of the leading limb during double support (rZ .639, PZ.01). A moderate functional relation was observed between thigh muscles (rZ .529, PZ.035), and a strong and moderate dysfunctional relation was found between the plantar flexors of the ipsilesional limb and the vastus medialis of the contralesional limb, respectively (SOL-VM, rZ .80, P<.001; gastrocnemius medialis-VM, rZ .655, PZ.002). Also, a functional moderate negative correlation was found between the SOL and rectus femoris muscles of the ipsilesional limb during terminal stance and between the SOL (rZ .506, PZ.046) and VM (rZ .518, PZ.04) muscles of the contralesional limb during loading response, respectively. The trailing limb relative impulse contribution of the contralesional limb was lower than the ipsilesional limb of subjects with stroke (PZ.02) and lower than the relative impulse contribution of the healthy limb (PZ.008) during double support. Conclusions: The findings obtained suggest that the lower performance of the contralesional limb in forward propulsion during gait is related not only to contralateral supraspinal damage but also to a dysfunctional influence of the ipsilesional limb.

A feedback-based decentralised coordination model for distributed open real-time systems

Moving towards autonomous operation and management of increasingly complex open distributed real-time systems poses very significant challenges. This is particularly true when reaction to events must be done in a timely and predictable manner while guaranteeing Quality of Service (QoS) constraints imposed by users, the environment, or applications. In these scenarios, the system should be able to maintain a global feasible QoS level while allowing individual nodes to autonomously adapt under different constraints of resource availability and input quality. This paper shows how decentralised coordination of a group of autonomous interdependent nodes can emerge with little communication, based on the robust self-organising principles of feedback. Positive feedback is used to reinforce the selection of the new desired global service solution, while negative feedback discourages nodes to act in a greedy fashion as this adversely impacts on the provided service levels at neighbouring nodes. The proposed protocol is general enough to be used in a wide range of scenarios characterised by a high degree of openness and dynamism where coordination tasks need to be time dependent. As the reported results demonstrate, it requires less messages to be exchanged and it is faster to achieve a globally acceptable near-optimal solution than other available approaches.

Wind-CSP short-term coordination by MILP approach

This paper is on the maximization of total profit in a day-ahead market for a price-taker producer needing a short-term scheduling for wind power plants coordination with concentrated solar power plants, having thermal energy storage systems. The optimization approach proposed for the maximization of profit is a mixed-integer linear programming problem. The approach considers not only transmission grid constraints, but also technical operating constraints on both wind and concentrated solar power plants. Then, an improved short-term scheduling coordination is provided due to the more accurate modelling presented in this paper. Computer simulation results based on data for the Iberian wind and concentrated solar power plants illustrate the coordination benefits and show the effectiveness of the approach.

Nano-CF: a Coordination Framework for macro-programming in wireless sensor networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are being used for a number of applications involving infrastructure monitoring, building energy monitoring and industrial sensing. The difficulty of programming individual sensor nodes and the associated overhead have encouraged researchers to design macro-programming systems which can help program the network as a whole or as a combination of subnets. Most of the current macro-programming schemes do not support multiple users seamlessly deploying diverse applications on the same shared sensor network. As WSNs are becoming more common, it is important to provide such support, since it enables higher-level optimizations such as code reuse, energy savings, and traffic reduction. In this paper, we propose a macro-programming framework called Nano-CF, which, in addition to supporting in-network programming, allows multiple applications written by different programmers to be executed simultaneously on a sensor networking infrastructure. This framework enables the use of a common sensing infrastructure for a number of applications without the users having to worrying about the applications already deployed on the network. The framework also supports timing constraints and resource reservations using the Nano-RK operating system. Nano- CF is efficient at improving WSN performance by (a) combining multiple user programs, (b) aggregating packets for data delivery, and (c) satisfying timing and energy specifications using Rate- Harmonized Scheduling. Using representative applications, we demonstrate that Nano-CF achieves 90% reduction in Source Lines-of-Code (SLoC) and 50% energy savings from aggregated data delivery.

Using attractor dynamics to generate decentralized motion control of two mobile robots transporting a long object in coordination

Dynamical systems theory is used here as a theoretical language and tool to design a distributed control architecture for a team of two mobile robots that must transport a long object and simultaneously avoid obstacles. In this approach the level of modeling is at the level of behaviors. A “dynamics” of behavior is defined over a state space of behavioral variables (heading direction and path velocity). The environment is also modeled in these terms by representing task constraints as attractors (i.e. asymptotically stable states) or reppelers (i.e. unstable states) of behavioral dynamics. For each robot attractors and repellers are combined into a vector field that governs the behavior. The resulting dynamical systems that generate the behavior of the robots may be nonlinear. By design the systems are tuned so that the behavioral variables are always very close to one attractor. Thus the behavior of each robot is controled by a time series of asymptotically stable states. Computer simulations support the validity of our dynamic model architectures.

Competitive dynamics for behavior coordination in a joint transportation task

We address the problem of coordinating two non-holonomic mobile robots that move in formation while transporting a long payload. A competitive dynamics is introduced that gradually controls the activation and deactivation of individual behaviors. This process introduces (asymmetrical) hysteresis during behavioral switching. As a result behavioral oscillations, due to noisy information, are eliminated. Results in indoor environments show that if parameter values are chosen within reasonable ranges then, in spite of noise in the robots communi- cation and sensors, the overall robotic system works quite well even in cluttered environments. The robots overt behavior is stable and smooth.

Wind-CSP short-term coordination by Milp approach

This paper is on the maximization of total profit in a day-ahead market for a price-taker producer needing a short-term scheduling for wind power plants coordination with concentrated solar power plants, having thermal energy storage systems. The optimization approach proposed for the maximization of profit is a mixed-integer linear programming problem. The approach considers not only transmission grid constraints, but also technical operating constraints on both wind and concentrated solar power plants. Then, an improved short-term scheduling coordination is provided due to the more accurate modelling presented in this paper. Computer simulation results based on data for the Iberian wind and concentrated solar power plants illustrate the coordination benefits and show the effectiveness of the approach.

Insights into the mechanims underlyng the antiproliferative potential of a Co(II) coordination compound bearing 1,10-Phenanthroline-5,6-Dione: DNA and protein interaction studies

The very high antiproliferative activity of [Co(Cl)(H2O)(phendione)(2)][BF4] (phendione is 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione) against three human tumor cell lines (half-maximal inhibitory concentration below 1 mu M) and its slight selectivity for the colorectal tumor cell line compared with healthy human fibroblasts led us to explore the mechanisms of action underlying this promising antitumor potential. As previously shown by our group, this complex induces cell cycle arrest in S phase and subsequent cell death by apoptosis and it also reduces the expression of proteins typically upregulated in tumors. In the present work, we demonstrate that [Co(Cl)(phendione)(2)(H2O)][BF4] (1) does not reduce the viability of nontumorigenic breast epithelial cells by more than 85 % at 1 mu M, (2) promotes the upregulation of proapoptotic Bax and cell-cycle-related p21, and (3) induces release of lactate dehydrogenase, which is partially reversed by ursodeoxycholic acid. DNA interaction studies were performed to uncover the genotoxicity of the complex and demonstrate that even though it displays K (b) (+/- A standard error of the mean) of (3.48 +/- A 0.03) x 10(5) M-1 and is able to produce double-strand breaks in a concentration-dependent manner, it does not exert any clastogenic effect ex vivo, ruling out DNA as a major cellular target for the complex. Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy studies are indicative of a strong and specific interaction of the complex with human serum albumin, involving one binding site, at a distance of approximately 1.5 nm for the Trp214 indole side chain with log K (b) similar to 4.7, thus suggesting that this complex can be efficiently transported by albumin in the blood plasma.

Intra-hospital organ and tissue donation coordination project: cost-effectiveness and social benefits

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the viability of a professional specialist in intra-hospital committees of organ and tissue donation for transplantation. METHODS Epidemiological, retrospective and cross-sectional study (2003-2011 and 2008-2012), which was performed using organ donation for transplants data in the state of Sao Paulo, Southeastern Brazil. Nine hospitals were evaluated (hospitals 1 to 9). Logistic regression was used to evaluate the differences in the number of brain death referrals and actual donors (dependent variables) after the professional specialist started work (independent variable) at the intra-hospital committee of organ and tissue donation for transplantation. To evaluate the hospital invoicing, the hourly wage of the doctor and registered nurse, according to the legislation of the Consolidation of Labor Laws, were calculated, as were the investment return and the time elapsed to do so. RESULTS Following the nursing specialist commencement on the committee, brain death referrals and the number of actual donors increased at hospital 2 (4.17 and 1.52, respectively). At hospital 7, the number of actual donors also increased from 0.005 to 1.54. In addition, after the nurse started working, hospital revenues increased by 190.0% (ranging 40.0% to 1.955%). The monthly cost for the nurse working 20 hours was US$397.97 while the doctor would cost US$3,526.67. The return on investment was 275% over the short term (0.36 years). CONCLUSIONS This paper showed that including a professional specialist in intra-hospital committees for organ and tissue donation for transplantation proved to be cost-effective. Further economic research in the area could contribute to the efficient public policy implementation of this organ and tissue harvesting model.

Silver coordination polymers with tri- and hexacyanoethyl-functionalized macrocyclic ligands

Tri-and hexa-cyanoethyl functionalized 17-(L-1) and 42-membered (L-2) macrocyclic compounds were obtained by [1 + 1] (for L-1) or [2 + 2] (for L-2) cyclocondensation of the corresponding dialdehyde and diethylenetriamine, followed by hydrogenation by KBH4 and subsequent cyano-functionalization with acrylonitrile. They react with silver nitrate, leading to the formation of [AgL1](NO3) (1) and of the metalorganic coordination polymers [Ag-2(NO3)(2)L-1](n) (2) and {[Ag2L2](NO3)(2)}(n) (3). The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR, IR spectroscopies, and ESI-MS; moreover, L-2, 1, 2 and 3 were also characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The metal cation in 1 is pentacoordinated with a N3O2 coordination environment; in 2, the metal cations display N4O2 octahedral and N2O3 square-pyramid coordination and in 3 they are in square-planar N-4 sites. In 1, the ligand acts as a pentadentate chelator, and in the other two cases, the ligands behave as octadentate chelators in a 1 kappa N-3:kappa O-2,2 kappa N,3 kappa N,4 kappa N (in 2) or 1 kappa N-3,2 kappa N-3,3 kappa N,4 kappa N fashion (in 3). The cyanoethyl strands of the ligands are directly involved in the formation of the 2D frameworks of 2 and 3, which in the former polymer can be viewed as a net composed of hexametallic 36-membered macrocyclic rings and in the latter generates extra hexametallic 58-membered cyclic sets that form zig-zag layers. The thermal analytical and electrochemical properties of these silver complexes were also studied.