Business process compliance checking – applying and evaluating a generic pattern matching approach for conceptual models in the financial sector

Given the strong increase in regulatory requirements for business processes the management of business process compliance becomes a more and more regarded field in IS research. Several methods have been developed to support compliance checking of conceptual models. However, their focus on distinct modeling languages and mostly linear (i.e., predecessor-successor related) compliance rules may hinder widespread adoption and application in practice. Furthermore, hardly any of them has been evaluated in a real-world setting. We address this issue by applying a generic pattern matching approach for conceptual models to business process compliance checking in the financial sector. It consists of a model query language, a search algorithm and a corresponding modelling tool prototype. It is (1) applicable for all graph-based conceptual modeling languages and (2) for different kinds of compliance rules. Furthermore, based on an applicability check, we (3) evaluate the approach in a financial industry project setting against its relevance for decision support of audit and compliance management tasks.     

Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) simulation of a high-pressure homogenization process

High-pressure homogenization is a widely used process in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industry for producing emulsions. Because of small dimensions and high velocities, the experimental and numerical investigation of such a process is challenging. Hence, the development of products is mostly based on trial and error. In this paper, simulations of a generic high-pressure homogenization process using the Lagrangian, mesh-free smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method are presented and compared to experimental findings using Micro-Particle Image Velocimetry (μ-PIV). The SPH code has been developed and validated with the scope of simulating technical relevant multi-phase problems (Höfler et al. 2012). The present simulations cover the investigation of two different dynamic viscosities of the dispersed phase as well as different droplet trajectories. The comparison between the simulations and the experiments focusses on the velocity distribution of the continuous phase and the droplet deformation and breakup. In both cases a qualitatively good agreement is observed, demonstrating the ability of our SPH implementation for simulating technical relevant two-phase flows.     

Nanocrystalline Nd–Fe–B Anisotropic Magnets by Flash Spark Plasma Sintering

Flash spark plasma sintering (flash SPS) is an attractive method to obtain Nd–Fe–B magnets with anisotropic magnetic properties when starting from melt-spun powders. Compared to the benchmark processing route via hot pressing with subsequent die upsetting, flash SPS promises electroplasticity as an additional deformation mechanism and reduced tool wear, while maximizing magnetic properties by tailoring the microstructure—fully dense and high texture. A detailed parameter study is conducted to understand the influence of Flash SPS parameters on the densification and magnetic properties of commercial MQU-F powder. It is revealed that the presintering conditions and preheating temperature before applying the power pulse play a major role for tailoring grain size and texture in the case of hot deformation via Flash SPS. Detailed microstructure and magnetic domain evaluation disclose the texture enhancement with increasing flash SPS temperature at the expense of coercivity. The best compromise between remanence and coercivity (1.37 T and 1195 kA m⁻¹, respectively) is achieved through a combination of presintering at 500 °C for 120 s and preheating temperature of 600 °C, resulting in a magnet with energy product (BH)_max of 350 kJm⁻³. These findings show the potential of flash SPS to obtain fully dense anisotropic nanocrystalline magnets with high magnetic performance.     

Infrared temperature measurement in the ear canal with the DIATEK 9000 Instatemp and the DIATEK 9000 Thermoguide. Comparison with methods of temperature measurement in other body parts

Temperature of the tympanic membrane is recommended as a "gold standard" of core-temperature recording. However, use of temperature probes in the auditory canal may lead to damage of tympanic membrane. Temperature measurement in the auditory canal with infrared thermometry does not pose this risk. Furthermore it is easy to perform and not very time-consuming. For this reason infrared thermometry of the auditory canal is becoming increasingly popular in clinical practice. We evaluated two infrared thermometers-the Diatek 9000 Thermoguide and the Diatek 9000 Instatemp-regarding factors influencing agreement with conventional tympanic temperature measurement and other core-temperature recording sites. In addition, we systematically evaluated user dependent factors that influence the agreement with the tympanic temperature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 20 volunteers we evaluated the influence of three factors: duration of the devices in the auditory canal before taking temperature (0 or 5 s), interval between two following recordings (30, 60, 90, 120, 180 s) and positioning of the grip relative to the auditory-canal axis (0, 60, 180 and 270 degrees). Agreement with tympanic contact probes (Mon-a-therm tympanic) in the contralateral ear was investigated in 100 postoperative patients. Comparative readings with rectal (YSI series 400) and esophageal (Mon-a-therm esophageal stethoscope with temperature sensor) probes were done in 100 patients in the ICU. The method of Bland and Altman was taken for comparison. RESULTS: Shortening of the interval between two consecutive readings led to increasing differences between the two measurements with the second reading decreasing. A similar effect was seen when positioning the infrared thermometers in the auditory canal before taking temperatures: after 5 s the recorded temperatures were significantly lower than temperature recordings taken immediately. Rotation of the devices out of the telephone handle position led to increasing lack of agreement between infrared thermometry and contact probes. Mean differences between infrared thermometry (Instatemp and Thermoguide, CAL-Mode) and tympanic probes were -0.41 +/- 0.67 degree C (2 SD) and -0.43 +/- 0.70 degree C, respectively. Mean differences between the Thermoquide (Rectal-Mode) and rectal probe were -0.19 +/- 0.72 degree C, and between the Thermoguide (Core Mode) and esophageal probe -0.13 +/- 0.74 degree C. DISCUSSION: Although easy to use, infrared thermometry requires careful handling. To obtain optimal recordings, the time between two consecutive readings should not be less than two min. Recordings should be taken immediately after positioning the devices in the auditory canal. Best results are obtained in the 60 degrees position with the grip of the devices following the ramus mandibulae (telephone handle position). The lower readings of infrared thermometry compared with tympanic contact probes indicate that the readings obtained represent the temperature of the auditory canal rather than of the tympanic membrane itself. To compensate for underestimation of core temperature by infrared thermometry, the results obtained are corrected and transferred into core-equivalent temperatures. This data correction reduces mean differences between infrared recordings and traditional core-temperature monitoring, but leaves limits of agreement between the two methods uninfluenced.     

Crystal: Integrating Structured Queries into a Tactic Language

We present the language CRStL (Control Rule Strategy Language, pronounce “crystal”) to formulate mathematical reasoning techniques as proof strategies in the context of the proof assistant Ωmega. The language is arranged in two levels, a query language to access mathematical knowledge maintained in development graphs, and a strategy language to annotate the results of these queries with further control information. The two-leveled structure of the language allows the specification of proof techniques in a declarative way. We present the syntax and semantics of CRStL and illustrate its use by examples.     

Uniform satisfiability problem for local temporal logics over Mazurkiewicz traces

We continue our study of the complexity of MSO-definable local temporal logics over concurrent systems that can be described by Mazurkiewicz traces. In previous papers, we showed that the satisfiability problem for any such logic is in PSPACE (provided the dependence alphabet is fixed, Gastin and Kuske (2003) [10]) and remains in PSPACE for all classical local temporal logics even if the dependence alphabet is part of the input, Gastin and Kuske (2007) [8]. In this paper, we consider the uniform satisfiability problem for arbitrary MSO-definable local temporal logics. For this problem, we prove multi-exponential lower and upper bounds that depend on the number of alternations of set quantifiers present in the chosen MSO-modalities.     

Aerodynamic and aeroelastic analyses on the CAARC standard tall building model using numerical simulation

The simulation of the wind action over the CAARC (Commonwealth Advisory Aeronautical Council) standard tall building model is performed in the present work. Aerodynamic and aeroelastic analyses are reproduced numerically in order to demonstrate the applicability of CFD techniques in the field of wind engineering. A major topic in this paper is referred to one of the first attempts to simulate the aeroelastic behavior of a tall building employing complex CFD techniques. Numerical results obtained in this work are compared with numerical and wind tunnel measurements and some important concluding remarks about the present simulation are also reported.     

Constrained multisine input signals for plant-friendly identification of chemical process systems

This paper considers the use of constrained minimum crest factor multisine signals as inputs for plant-friendly identification testing of chemical process systems. The methodology presented here effectively integrates operating restrictions, information-theoretic requirements, and state-of-the-art optimization techniques to design minimum crest factor multisine signals meeting important user-specified time and frequency domain properties. A series of optimization problem formulations relevant to problems in linear, nonlinear, and multivariable system identification are presented; these culminate with their application to the modeling of the Weischedel–McAvoy high-purity distillation column problem, a demanding nonlinear and highly interactive system. The effectiveness of these signals for modeling for control purposes and the ability to incorporate a priori nonlinear models in the signal design procedure are demonstrated in this distillation system case study.     

Detecting zero-day attacks using context-aware anomaly detection at the application-layer

Anomaly detection allows for the identification of unknown and novel attacks in network traffic. However, current approaches for anomaly detection of network packet payloads are limited to the analysis of plain byte sequences. Experiments have shown that application-layer attacks become difficult to detect in the presence of attack obfuscation using payload customization. The ability to incorporate syntactic context into anomaly detection provides valuable information and increases detection accuracy. In this contribution, we address the issue of incorporating protocol context into payload-based anomaly detection. We present a new data representation, called \({c}_n\)-grams, that allows to integrate syntactic and sequential features of payloads in an unified feature space and provides the basis for context-aware detection of network intrusions. We conduct experiments on both text-based and binary application-layer protocols which demonstrate superior accuracy on the detection of various types of attacks over regular anomaly detection methods. Furthermore, we show how \({c}_n\)-grams can be used to interpret detected anomalies and thus, provide explainable decisions in practice.