QoS aggregation for service orchestrations based on workflow pattern rules and MCDM method: evaluation at design time and runtime

Service consumers satisfaction is considered today as one of the main concern to be ensured by service providers, especially with the spread of concurrency and the increase of functionally equivalent services. This satisfaction is closely related to quality of service (QoS) perceived by service consumers. In this context, we propose an approach to determine the satisfaction degree corresponding to the QoS of service-based applications, with regard to service consumers’ QoS expectations. Our approach is based on a preference model, which is built only on the basis of service consumer’s provided information. This preference model is also based on the 2-additive Choquet operator that takes into account preferential dependencies. In this paper, we target both design time and runtime aggregation of QoS of service-based applications.     

The Investigation of the Fractional-View Dynamics of Helmholtz Equations Within Caputo Operator

It is eminent that partial differential equations are extensively meaningful in physics, mathematics and engineering. Natural phenomena are formulated with partial differential equations and are solved analytically or numerically to interrogate the system’s dynamical behavior. In the present research, mathematical modeling is extended and the modeling solutions Helmholtz equations are discussed in the fractional view of derivatives. First, the Helmholtz equations are presented in Caputo’s fractional derivative. Then Natural transformation, along with the decomposition method, is used to attain the series form solutions of the suggested problems. For justification of the proposed technique, it is applied to several numerical examples. The graphical representation of the solutions shows that the suggested technique is an accurate and effective technique with a high convergence rate than other methods. The less calculation and higher rate of convergence have confirmed the present technique’s reliability and applicability to solve partial differential equations and their systems in a fractional framework.     

The food preservative potential of essential oils: is lemongrass the answer?

Several essential oils of medicinal plants possess proven antimicrobial activity and are suitable for applications on the food industry. The oil from Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass) has been reported to have a wide range of biological activities. However, there are few controlled studies confirming its antimicrobial activity. The aim of our study was to assess the antimicrobial potential of lemongrass oil against a wide spectrum of food spoilage and pathogenic bacteria and yeast in liquid and vapour phase. The chemical composition of the oil was analyzed by gas chromatography; 14 components were identified and geranial (28.93 %), neral (24.30 %) and myrcene (23.92 %) were the most abundant constituents. Lemongrass oil showed potent antimicrobial activity against Gram positive bacteria and exhibited the strongest antifungal effect against Candida albicans and C. parapsilosis. Minimum inhibitory concentration varied from 0.019 to 1.25 mg mL^?1 for Gram positive bacteria and yeasts, indicating Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis and C. albicans as the most susceptible strains. Moreover, the diameter of inhibition zone (DIZ) increased with increasing essential oil (EO) volume. Considerably superior antimicrobial activity was observed in the vapour phase. The DIZ resulting from the exposure to EO vapour was significantly larger than that from the same volume in the liquid phase. The DIZ varied from 22 to 90 mm for Candida strains. There is growing evidence that EO in vapour phase are effective antimicrobial systems and that they do have advantages over the use of oil in liquid phase. Our results imply that lemongrass oil could be useful for the development of novel types of natural preservatives for food control.     

Following Spur Gear Crack Propagation in the Tooth Foot by Finite Element Method

The objective of this study was to follow the crack propagation in the tooth foot of a spur gear by using Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM) and the Finite Element Method (FEM). The tooth foot crack propagation is a function of Stress Intensity Factors (SIF) that play a very crucial role in the life span of the gear. A two-dimensional quasi-static analysis is carried out using a program that determines the gear geometry, coupled with the Finite Element Code (ANSYS). The study estimates the stress intensity factors and monitors their variations on the tooth foot according to crack depth, crack propagation angle, and the crack position. An appropriate methodology for predicting the crack propagation path is applied by considering gear tooth behavior in bending fatigue. The results are used to predict/prevent catastrophic rim fracture failure modes from occurring in critical components.     

Vibration analysis of a rotating flexible shaft–disk system

Free vibrations of a spinning disk–shaft system are analysed using the finite-element method. The spinning disk is described by the Kirchhoff plate theory. The shaft is modelled by a rotating beam. Using Lagrange’s principle and including the rigid-body translation and tilting motion, equations of motion of the spinning flexible disk and shaft are derived consistently to satisfying the geometric compatibility conditions on the internal boundaries among the substructures. The finite-element method is then used to discretize the derived governing equations. The method is applied to the shaft–disk spinning system. The sensitivity to the running speed as well as the effect of both disk flexibility and boundary condition on the natural frequencies of the spinning system are numerically investigated.