Verification Rules Research Articles

Information systems modelling based on graph-theoretic background

ABSTRACTThe recent tendency in analysis and design of information systems is that the emphasis is placed on the documents that are ubiquitous around information systems and organizations. The proliferation of computer literacy led to the general use of electronic documents. To understand the anticipated behaviour of information systems and the actual operation of an organization, the analysis of documents plays increasingly an important role. The behaviour of information systems can be interpreted in a framework of Enterprise Architecture and its models that are contained in it. Certain parts and entirety of various types of documents are connected to business processes, tasks, roles, and actors within an organization. The tracking of life cycle of documents and representing the complex relationships are essential at both analysis and operation time. We propose a theoretical framework that makes use of previous results of modelling and well-founded mathematical techniques. The basic idea is that the very flexible mathematical structure, the hypergraph, provides a sound groundwork on which a formal structure can be built up through mapping the essential concept, construction, components, and constituents of information systems. Thus, the representations of models for information systems that mapped onto a hypergraph can be analysed by either using more traditional tools as logic and inference rules or by a set of tools belonging to data science later. The paper describes the mapping of the important concepts onto hypergraphs as documents, processes in cases, their models and some rules for verification and validation; the hypergraph description can be interpreted as a concept hypergraph to be subjected for logical reasoning.

Drilling Down to the Real Owners - Part 1: 'More than 25% of Ownership' & 'Unidentified' Beneficial Ownership: Amendments Needed in FATF's Recommendations and in EU's AML Directive

There are serious shortcomings in the international and European framework rules for companies' beneficial ownership identification, verification and policing of the system, the FATF’s (2012) 40 recommendations and the 4th EU Directive on anti-money laundering (2015) respectively. This paper proposes solutions and amendments to address these shortcomings.

Drilling Down to the Real Owners Part 2. Don't Forget the Trust: Amendments Needed in FATF's Recommendations and in EU's AML Directive

There are serious shortcomings in the international and European framework rules for trusts' beneficial ownership identification, verification and policing of the system, the FATF’s (2012) 40 recommendations and the 4th EU Directive on anti-money laundering (2015) respectively. This paper proposes solutions and amendments to address these shortcomings.

The Imitation Game: Structural Asymmetry in Multidistrict Litigation

This Article examines some of the consequences of asymmetric transaction costs in multidistrict litigation, or MDL. Using principles from legal ethics, economics, and accounting, we show how the structure of MDL affects attorneys’ incentives to recruit plaintiffs and screen cases to form mass litigation. The low marginal costs required to file credible-seeming complaints and the need for global peace in many-on-one settlement create a perfect storm for mass-produced nuisance litigation. Separating quality claims from frivolous suits in complex litigation entails significant costs, rendering much of MDL practice an “imitation game” in which vast resources are spent screening cases that would not have been filed outside MDL. This gamesmanship tests ethical responsibilities of plaintiffs’ attorneys, impairs efficient financial reporting, and strains scarce judicial resources. Building on recent rulings by frustrated courts in drug and device litigation and the proposed allegations verification rules of the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017, we show how changes in MDL management can put teeth into ethical rules, decreasing the challenges inherent in MDL while preserving the scale economies offered to litigants.

Conceptual Framework for Calculation of Climate Performance with Pre-verified LCA-Tools

This article proposes the use of current European standards and verification rules for EPDs (environmental product declarations) as a basis for evaluating the climate impact of contractors’ alterna ...

Verified Climate Calculation of Contractors’ Design

This article proposes the use of current European standards and verification rules for environmental product declarations (EPDs) as a basis for evaluating the climate impact of contractors’ alternative designs of infrastructural projects. The proposed conceptual framework for verified climate calculations is based on the Swedish-based, the International EPD® System. Several Swedish and Norwegian stakeholders were engaged in this joint project to understand driving forces and obstacles and provide key insights for the successful implementation of such verification framework for evaluation of climate impact from alternative design options. In order to perform a sharp test of some main hypothesizes about how it's possible to create verified climate calculations, four of the project participants collected data for EPD-like LCAs from infrastructural projects.

Geospatial knowledge-based verification and improvement of GlobeLand30

Assuring the quality of land-cover data is one of the major challenges for large- area mapping projects. Although the use of geospatial knowledge and ancillary data in improving land-cover classification has been studied since the early 1980s, mature methods and efficient supporting tools are still lacking. This paper presents a geospatial knowledge-based verification and improvement approach for global land cover (GLC) mapping at 30-m resolution. A set of verification rules is derived from three types of land cover and its change knowledge (natural, cultural and temporal constraints). A group of web-based supporting tools is developed to facilitate the integration of and access to large amounts of ancillary data and to support online data manipulation and analysis as well as collaborative verification workflows. With this approach, two 30-m GLC datasets (GlobeLand-2000 and GlobeLand-2010) were verified and modified. The results indicate that the data quality of GlobeLand30 has been largely improved.

Linear least squares problems involving fixed knots polynomial splines and their singularity study

In this paper, we study a class of approximation problems appearing in data approximation and signal processing. The approximations are constructed as combinations of polynomial splines (piecewise polynomials) whose parameters are subject to optimisation and so called prototype functions whose choice is based on the application rather than optimisation. We investigate two types of models, namely Model 1 and Model 2 in order to analyse the singularity of their system matrices. The main difference between these two models is that in Model 2, the signal is shifted vertically (signal biasing) by a polynomial spline function. The corresponding optimisation problems can be formulated as Linear Least Squares Problems (LLSPs). If the system matrix is non-singular, then, the corresponding problem can be solved inexpensively and efficiently, while for singular cases, slower (but more robust) methods have to be used. To choose a better suited method for solving the corresponding LLSPs we have developed a singularity verification rule. In this paper, we develop necessary and sufficient conditions for non-singularity of Model 1 and sufficient conditions for non-singularity of Model 2. These conditions can be verified much faster than the direct singularity verification of the system matrices. Therefore, the algorithm efficiency can be improved by choosing a suitable method for solving the corresponding LLSPs.

How to revise a research paper

How to revise a research paper

Implementation of criteria for automatic release of clinical chemistry test results in a laboratory at an academic public hospital

Introduction: Autoverification is the release of laboratory test results from clinical instruments to hospital interface, or to patients' records, with no human intervention. Verification rules are inserted in the middleware and/or in the laboratory information system (LIS), based on criteria established by the laboratory. As a result, it ensures that every result is consistently reviewed in the same way, improving the entire verification process and patient safety. Objective: Describe the implementation of autoverification of clinical chemistry tests results at the core laboratory of Hospital das Clinicas da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (HC/UFMG), Brazil. Material and methods: Twenty-six automated chemistry assays were chosen. They were fully automated including internal quality control, interfaced with LIS, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Rules were set up in the middleware and in the LIS. Instrument flags, evaluation of sample integrity, test linearity, delta check and critical values were used to construct the verification algorithms. Results: An autoverification algorithm was constructed; delta check values were calculated and defined, as well as automatic verification ranges. The results retained for manual verification followed a flowchart prepared for this purpose. Conclusion: Autoverification implementation led to a more consistent reviewing process of test results, efficiency and improved patient safety.

A lightweight framework for dynamic GUI data verification based on scripts

Runtime verification RV provides essential mechanisms to enhance software robustness and prevent malfunction. However, RV often entails complex and formal processes that could be avoided in scenarios in which only invariants or simple safety properties are verified, for example, when verifying input data in Graphical User Interfaces GUIs. This paper describes S-DAVER, a lightweight framework aimed at supporting separate data verification in GUIs. All the verification processes are encapsulated in an independent layer and then transparently integrated into an application. The verification rules are specified in separate files and written in interpreted languages to be changed/reloaded at runtime without recompilation. Superimposed visual feedback is used to assist developers during the testing stage and to improve the experience of users during execution. S-DAVER provides a lightweight, easy-to-integrate and dynamic verification framework for GUI data. It is an integral part of the development, testing and execution stages. An implementation of S-DAVER was successfully integrated into existing open-source applications, with promising results. Copyright © 2015John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Autoverification of the automated blood cell counter (CBC) in a reference laboratory in Bogota, Colombia

Introduction: The clinical laboratory is part of the group of actors in health systems that are under increasing pressure by users and administrators to increase their productivity in order to respond efficiently to the increased volume of patients, optimizing costs and professional time. This pressure forced laboratories to perform a full review of their procedures and develop technical, logistical and computational tools to enable excellent response times. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the implementation of the automated blood cell counter autoverification process and its impact on the safety of patients. Methods: Verification rules were designed in the connectivity software, based on manual validation criteria for laboratory professionals, according to the guidelines of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) Guideline Auto10-A and the International Consensus Group for Hematology Review (ISLH). The autoverification percentage was established, and non-conforming product (NCP) percentages were estimated before and after the procedure. Pilot tests were also performed in different days so as to adjust the process. Results: 53.4% of automated blood cell counters autoverification were achieved, and, subsequently in the audit of 18 months, 60% was reached due to verification adjustments in the delta programmed filter. The NCPs rose from 0.065% to 0.0036% from the beginning to the end of the process. Conclusion: The autoverification process enabled to reduce the variability associated with human intervention, therefore the professional is able to focus on the pathological report analysis, reducing the risk of errors and advocating greater importance on patient safety.

JBPML puts its commitment to the care of safety in the laboratory

In 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute ([CLSI] – formerly NCCLS) consensus standard for auto verification of clinical laboratory test results. That guideline provides a general framework that allows clinical laboratories to propose, implement, validate, and customize their own rules for auto verification. The endorsed verifications include limit check rules, critical values, comparison with former results, and consistency of related results. Thus, auto verification turns into a powerful tool to improve post-analytical laboratory process, increasing efficiency and reducing overall turnaround time.

A Formal Specification Framework for Designing and Verifying Reliable and Dependable Software for CNC Systems

As a distributed computing system, a CNC system needs to be operated reliably, dependably, and safely. How to design reliable and dependable software and perform effective verification for CNC systems becomes an important research problem. In this paper, we propose a new modeling method called TTM/ATRTTL (timed transition models/all-time real-time temporal logics) for specifying CNC systems. TTM/ATRTTL provides full supports for specifying hard real time and feedback that are needed for modeling CNC systems. We also propose a verification framework with verification rules and theorems and implement it with STeP and SF2STeP. The proposed verification framework can check reliability, dependability, and safety of systems specified by our TTM/ATRTTL method. We apply our modeling and verification techniques on an open architecture CNC (OAC) system and conduct comprehensive studies on modeling and verifying a system controller that is the key part of OAC. The results show that our method can effectively model and verify CNC systems and generate CNC software that can satisfy system requirements in reliability, dependability, and safety.

System Complexity-Based ab initio Antenna Verification Methodology

Fundamental limitation of approaching the plasma-charging-induced-damage (antenna effect) problem from an “antenna-ratio” perspective is highlighted through this paper. Widely used constant-antenna-ratio rule ensures uniform voltage buildup across different components on the chip. However, as the fail fractions of discrete transistors are dependent on voltage, as well as Poisson defect distribution statistics, the traditional method automatically means different fail fractions for different components, potentially leading into a situation of uncontrolled system reliability. We present a method to derive antenna verification rules from the first principles, originating from constant component-fail-fraction, which naturally lends the flexibility of incorporating system complexity. With the new methodology, antenna rules for a smaller design could be much relaxed, as compared to a large design.

Procedures for Multiaxial Creep-Fatigue Verifications of Nuclear Components

Nuclear high heat flux components (HHFCs) experience large thermal gradients and high heat flux variations, which induce severe thermal cyclic loadings. The most critical design issue for these components is their endurance strength under the required number of thermal cycles.The aim of this work is to provide procedures to perform the multiaxial creep-fatigue life assessment of HHFCs. Since the existing design codes present limitations due to simplifying assumptions concerning procedures for the multiaxial fatigue verification considering interactive effects of creep-fatigue and local stress and temperature conditions, better accurate verification methods and rules are developed starting from the available scientific literature and experimental data. The new verification methods identify the shape of the most damaging hysteresis loop considering plasticity and creep strains in both tensile and compressive conditions.The developed procedures are used to post-process the thermomechanical results of finite element (FE) analyses. They foresee the calculation of the creep-fatigue damage in each node and for each cyclic loading of the analyzed FE model by using the fatigue curve corresponding to the shape of the local hysteresis loop. Furthermore, the most fatigued elements are bounded and the causes of damage are identified to improve the local design. The fatigue damage is evaluated considering the effects of local conditions: temperature, multiaxial stress-strain state, strain intensity range, effect of local mean stresses, material shakedown, accumulated damage for multiple cyclic loads, combined effect of creep-fatigue, hold periods, and neutron flux.The developed procedures are successfully verified by comparing the results with experimental data for different levels of mean stress.This paper presents a description of the procedures and design rules focusing on the innovative aspects. The new procedures have been developed in the framework of the activities for the design, manufacturing, and procurement of the ITER neutral beam injector, and they are applied for creep-fatigue verifications of the in-vessel HHFCs.

Integration of semantic verifiers into Java language compilers

This paper introduces one method for source code static semantic analysis at compilation time directly within standard compilers. The method is implemented via unified integration with Java compilers to get full access to Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) of compiled files after semantic analysis stage of compilation process. The unified integration is implemented by common AST interfaces and adapters to AST implementations of Sun/Oracle javac and Eclipse Compiler for Java (ecj) compilers. This method provides transparent integration with Eclipse and Netbeans integrated developer environments without a need for any special plugins. Several examples of program verification rules are presented to demonstrate the method.

Building and Validating an Autoverification System in the Clinical Chemistry Laboratory

Objective: In this study we give a detailed description of how to construct verification rules and then evaluate the benefits brought to the laboratory. Methods: All logic processes and verification rules are constructed in middleware with reference to the CLSI Auto10-A Guideline. There were 569,001 patient test results collected to establish the range of the limit check, delta check, and the consistence rule check. Results: Daily results show the autoverification (AV) passing rate of all test results to be 92%∼95%. About 80% of test reports can be auto-released. Conclusions: Individual differences in the verification of test results are eliminated, turnaround time (TAT) is shortened, and full-time equivalent (FTE) are reduced, thus enabling medical technologists to devote more time and effort to handling intercepted test reports, which, in turn, improves the quality of patient care. * TAT : turnaround time LIS : laboratory information system LAS : laboratory automation system MV : manual verification HIS : hospital information system AV : automatically verified MV : manually verified AMR : analytical measurement range Na+ : sodium CL− : chloride K+ : potassium TT4 : total thyroxine TT3 : total triiodothyronine CRP : C-reactive protein TSH : thyroid stimulating hormone FT4 : free thyroxine BIO : biochemically IA : immunoassay AV : automatically verified hCG : human chorionic gonadotropin EDTA : ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid QC : quality control FTE : full-time equivalent

Transfer learning of classification rules for biomarker discovery and verification from molecular profiling studies

We present a novel framework for integrative biomarker discovery from related but separate data sets created in biomarker profiling studies. The framework takes prior knowledge in the form of interpretable, modular rules, and uses them during the learning of rules on a new data set. The framework consists of two methods of transfer of knowledge from source to target data: transfer of whole rules and transfer of rule structures. We evaluated the methods on three pairs of data sets: one genomic and two proteomic. We used standard measures of classification performance and three novel measures of amount of transfer. Preliminary evaluation shows that whole-rule transfer improves classification performance over using the target data alone, especially when there is more source data than target data. It also improves performance over using the union of the data sets.

Defending Against XML-Based Attacks Using State-Based XML Firewall

With the proliferation of service-oriented systems and cloud computing, web services security has gained much attention in recent years. Web service attacks, called XML-based attacks, typically occur at the SOAP message level, thus they are not readily handled by existing security mechanisms such as a conventional firewall. In order to provide effective security mechanisms for service-oriented systems, XML firewalls have recently been introduced as one of the major means for web services security. In this paper, we present a framework for state-based XML firewall, called S-Wall, which supports dynamic role-based access control (D-RBAC) and detection of XML-based attacks in real-time. We provide a detailed design of the S-Wall security model by defining state-based information, user information, access control policies, and detection and verification (D&V) rules. The D&V rules are modularized into separate units, which support real-time detection and verification of various types of attacks using state-based information. To illustrate the effectiveness of our approach, we develop a prototype S-Wall, and utilize a case study to demonstrate how S-Wall can be used to efficiently detect and defend against XML-based attacks.