Overlaps in Requirements Engineering

Although overlap between specifications—that is the incorporation of elements which designate common aspects of the system of concern—is a precondition for specification inconsistency, it has only been a side concern in requirements engineering research. This paper is concerned with overlaps. It defines overlap relations in terms of specification interpretations, identifies properties of these relations which are derived from the proposed definition, shows how overlaps may affect the detection of inconsistency; shows how specifications could be rewritten to reflect overlap relations and still be amenable to consistency checking using theorem proving; analyses various methods that have been proposed for identifying overlaps with respect to the proposed definition; and outlines directions for future research.     

Spontaneous rupture of the oesophagus (author's transl)

During the last 4 years three so-called spontaneous perforations of the oesophagus were treated, twice by surgical intervention 12 anys after the rupture. Two patients survived. The classical history of retching or vomiting and retrosternal splitting pain is indicative, wht medium, amidotrizoate sodium (Gastrografin), from the oesophagus. Prognosis depends decisively on the time of operation after the rupture. Direct suture of the rupture with plastic coverage of the defect by sewing on of the gastric fundus or by plication of the fundus have proved valuable.     

Selective control of gliding microtubule populations

First lab-on-chip devices based on active transport by biomolecular motors have been demonstrated for basic detection and sorting applications. However, to fully employ the advantages of such hybrid nanotechnology, versatile spatial and temporal control mechanisms are required. Using a thermo-responsive polymer, we demonstrate the selective starting and stopping of modified microtubules gliding on a kinesin-1-coated surface. This approach allows the self-organized separation of multiple microtubule populations and their respective cargoes.     

Systematic literature review shows that appetite rating does not predict energy intake

Ratings of appetite are commonly used to assess appetite modification following an intervention. Subjectively rated appetite is a widely employed proxy measure for energy intake (EI), measurement of which requires greater time and resources. However, the validity of appetite as a reliable predictor of EI has not yet been reviewed systematically. This literature search identified studies that quantified both appetite ratings and EI. Outcomes were predefined as: (1) agreement between self-reported appetite scores and EI; (2) no agreement between self-reported appetitescores and EI. The presence of direct statistical comparison between the endpoints, intervention type and study population were also recorded. 462 papers were included in this review. Appetite scores failed to correspond with EI in 51.3% of the total studies. Only 6% of all studies evaluated here reported a direct statistical comparison between appetite scores and EI. χ² analysis demonstrated that any relationship between EI and appetite was independent of study type stratification by age, gender or sample size. The very substantive corpus reviewed allows us to conclude that self-reported appetite ratings of appetite do not reliably predict EI. Caution should be exercised when drawing conclusions based from self-reported appetite scores in relation to prospective EI.     

Invisible Agency

Jeremy Till and Tatjana Schneider call for a redefinition of the architect away from the professional who is ostensibly involved in adding ‘more stuff to the world’. Looking beyond the business of matter or managing the impact of that matter on the environment, they explore ways that designers can use their intelligence and creativity to shift existing habits of consumption and patterns of behaviour. They highlight the work for four practices who are already operating in this field: 2012Architecten, 00/:, Arif Hasan and Morar de Outras Maneiras (MOM).     

Moment resisting connections composed of friction-welded spruce boards: experimental investigations and numerical strength prediction

Research on friction welded wood-to-wood connections has shown high potential for further development regarding the industrial application of timber construction. This paper addresses the question to which extent welding of wood can be applied to fabrication of cross-laminated timber panels (CLT). Those panels can be used as wall elements, in which load transfer occurs by transmission of moments and shear stresses. For this purpose, experimental investigations on friction welded L-shaped specimens were carried out. The welded bond between the boards, arranged perpendicularly to their fibre directions, represents points of intersection of those CLT panels. The results allowed for (a) the determination of a fracture mechanism of welded timber connections under torsion, (b) the definition of a set of design parameters influencing the resulting joint strength and (c) the comparison between the performance of welded timber joints and those of commonly glued alternatives. The experimental investigations were compared to results obtained by numerical modelling, thus allowing a probabilistic strength prediction algorithm for predicting the joint capacity as a function of the surface size.     

MRI correlates of cognitive impairment in childhood-onset multiple sclerosis.

Objective: Brain MRI measures were correlated with neuropsychological function in 35 pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and 33 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Method: Mean age of MS patients was 16.3 ± 2.3 years with average disease duration of 4.3 ± 3.1 years. Cortical gray matter, thalamic, and global brain volumes were calculated for all participants using a scaling factor computed using normalization of atrophy method to normalize total and regional brain volumes for head size. T1- and T2-weighted lesion volumes were calculated for MS patients. Results: Cognitive impairment (CI) was identified in 29% of the MS cohort. Cognitive deficits predominantly involved attention and processing speed, expressive language, and visuomotor integration. Relative to controls, the MS group showed significantly lower thalamic volume (p p p p     

Elucidation of the biosynthesis and degradation of allantofuranone by isotopic labelling and fermentation of modified precursors

Feeding experiments with the ascomycete Allantophomopsis lycopodina indicated that the potent fungistatic allantofuranone is biosynthesized from phenylalanine. Further experiments with synthetic precursors gave evidence that the naturally occurring polyporic acid serves as a key intermediate in the biosynthesis. In addition to the formation of allantofuranone, its abiotic and metabolic degradation were investigated.