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A complete information modeling method must address both the process- and data-perspectives, preferably in an integrated manner (i.e., also specifying which state change each process should achieve exactly). However, most approaches either emphasize only data or only processes. And when an approach handles both data and processes, there is usually no integration of processes and data. A language must have a precise semantics if tools are to perform intelligent operations on models expressed in the language. Moreover, formal semantics helps in detecting errors in and reasoning about specifications. We give a precise, declarative, model-theoretic semantics for a large class of instruction languages that treats processes and data in an integrated manner. The instruction expressions are interpreted against a ‘state space’ (i.e., a set of ‘states’) and we consider the semantics of an instruction as the set of possible state transitions it can achieve. As a result, we can provide the integration of the different scenarios of a use case into one (textual) system sequence diagram with a well-defined semantics. We can also formally prove the semantic equivalence of several instructions, even for non-deterministic instructions. The class of instruction languages provides a fruitful similarity between the structuring mechanisms for modeling business processes, textual system sequence diagrams, and programming languages, among others. This will ease the translation towards an implementation in a software system.

Graphical system sequence diagrams (SSDs), used in Requirements Engineering and Analysis, are hard to draw for larger use cases. However, we wanted to be able to express SSDs for such use cases as well. While we were designing a grammar for textual SSDs, we noted that we needed the same kind of structuring mechanisms as for modeling business processes and programming languages. Only the basic building block differs: e.g., an assignment statement for (imperative) programming languages and a (basic) interaction step for SSDs. Can we generalize this similarity idea, leading to (uniform) grammars for instruction languages in general, and exploit this? This paper presents a grammar for ‘structured’ Ws (where W stands for ‘Whatever’), leading to grammars for (textual) instruction languages. The general grammar contains constructs necessary for specifying all kinds of instructions. We illustrate our theory with examples from several different application areas. A basic building block might even be a picture or an icon, as we will point out. The main contribution of the paper is a powerful and uniform grammar for instruction languages in general, containing generic constructs for specifying various instructions conveniently. Exploiting the similarity between the structuring mechanisms for modeling business processes, (textual) SSDs, and programming languages will ease the translation towards an implementation in a software system. Usually the grammar rules for basic building blocks are domain specific and must be specified and added per application.

Resumo O trabalho aborda as aglomerações urbanas e seus possíveis efeitos na estrutura espacial das cidades que as compõem. Uma aglomeração urbana pressupõe a existência de fortes inter-relações socioespaciais entre cidades próximas e complementaridade entre atividades (habitação, emprego, estudo, serviços, entre outras). O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar os prováveis efeitos da atratividade entre cidades aglomeradas, nas escalas intra e interurbana. O artigo enfoca especificamente a relação habitação-consumo e toma como estudo empírico três cidades aglomeradas na região da Serra Gaúcha (Bento Gonçalves, Garibaldi e Carlos Barbosa). A metodologia do trabalho é de natureza quantitativa e se fundamenta em modelos configuracionais urbanos. As três cidades são representadas como um sistema espacial possibilitando a análise de dois cenários: as cidades separadas e em conjunto. Aplica-se o Modelo de Polaridade como indicador de atratividade relativa, que permite inferir um determinado tipo de complementaridade entre unidades do espaço urbano. A metodologia permitiu a comparação entre os cenários, fornecendo uma primeira medida da hierarquia espacial gerada na relação de consumo entre as cidades. As conclusões procuram evidenciar as potencialidades e limites da metodologia apresentada. Abstract This paper focuses on the urban agglomerations and their effects on the spatial structure of the individual cities. An urban agglomeration implies the existence of strong socio-spatial relationships between nearby cities and complementarity between activities (housing, employment, study, services, among others). The objective of this paper is to present a methodology for the analysis of the probable effects of attractiveness between agglomerated cities, in intra-urban and regional scales. The article specifically focuses on the housing-consumption relationship and takes three agglomerated cities in the region of Serra Gaúcha (Bento Gonçalves, Garibaldi and Carlos Barbosa) as an empirical study. The paper applies a quantitative approach based on urban configurational models. The three cities are represented as a spatial system enabling the analysis of two scenarios: individual cities and the unified system. The Polarity model is used as an indicator of the relative attractiveness, inferring a certain type of complementarity between urban space units. The methodology enabled the comparison between the scenarios, providing a first measure of the spatial hierarchy generated for the consumption among the cities. The conclusions seek to highlight the potentialities and limits of the presented methodology.

Interview met Rutger Kappe verschenen in het wetenschapskatern van het Parool.

O tabagismo é considerado pela Organização Mundial de Saúde (OMS) a principal causa de morte evitável no mundo. Estima-se que um terço da população mundial adulta, um bilhão e duzentos milhões de pessoas, seja fumante. Diante desses dados, torna-se importante avaliar os danos causados pela exposição a este agente, o que inclui diferentes tipos celulares. Este estudo buscou avaliar in vitro o efeito citotóxico e os níveis de peroxidação lipídica em leucócitos humanos expostos à fumaça de cigarros simulando ambiente fechado destinado a fumantes, utilizando os testes de viabilidade celular e TBARS. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que todas as marcas testadas causaram diminuição significativa da viabilidade leucocitária e aumento da concentração de malondialdeído, quando comparados ao controle negativo. Entretanto, esta redução da viabilidade celular não pode ser atribuía exclusivamente aos níveis de peroxidação lipídica, mas, possivelmente, ao conjunto de compostos presentes na fumaça dos cigarros, alguns destes expressos no rótulo.