Yazılım Süreç Geliştirme Modellerinin KOBİ’lerde Kabulü için Model Geliştirilmesi: Ön Bulgular

The software industry is playing a significant role in development of economies all over the world. It is mainly made up of small and medium software enterprises (SMEs). These companies aim to benefit from Software Process Improvements (SPI) to increase product quality and productivity in a competitive environment. Several SPI models and frameworks have been developed to improve software quality in SMEs. As SPI require organizational change and adaptation to new tools, techniques and work practices; organizations have to handle with several challenges emerged from the change. In this study, we present the factors that influence the success and adoption of the SPI models and/or standards used in SMEs. We also present the preliminary findings of the SPI acceptance model that we developed based on an established behavioral theory for SMEs. A pilot survey study was conducted to analyze the model with 20 participants who work in a CMMI Level 3 company.Yazılım endüstrisi tüm dünya ekonomilerinin gelişiminde önemli bir rol oynamaktadır. Bu firmaların çoğunluğu küçük ve orta ölçekli şirketlerden (KOBİ) oluşmaktadır. Bu şirketler, rekabetçi bir ortamda ürün kalitesini ve verimliliğini artırmak için Yazılım Süreç İyileştirmelerinden (YSİ) faydalanmayı amaçlamaktadır. YSİ uygulamaları beraberinde kurumsal değişim ve yeni araçlara, tekniklere ve iş uygulamalarına adapte olmayı gerektirdiğinden; kurumlar değişimden kaynaklanan çeşitli zorluklarla başa çıkmak zorundadır. Bu çalışmada, KOBİ’lerde kullanılan YSİ model ve / veya standartlarının başarısını ve benimsenmesini etkileyen faktörler sunulmaktadır. Ayrıca, KOBİ’ler için Davranışsal Teoriye dayanarak geliştirdiğimiz YSİ kabul modelinin ön bulguları sunulmaktadır. CMMI Seviye 3 firmasında çalışan 20 katılımcı ile modeli analiz etmek için pilot bir anket çalışması yapılmıştır

Analysis of Software Process Improvement Activities in SMEs: A Systematic Literature Review

This Software industry is a very significant cog in today’s economic landscape. The majority of these organizations mainly comprise small and medium enterprises (SMEs). These enterprises aim to benefit from Software Process Improvement (SPI) activities in producing high-quality products and services in competitive business environments. For this purpose, SPI models have been developed for specific SME characteristics. In this study, we performed a systematic literature review to analyze the characteristics of these SPI models, the challenges of performing SPI activities in SMEs, and the critical success factors for SPI activities. In this context, 61 articles published from 2007 to 2020 were examined, as a result, 28 SPI models used in SMEs were found out. In addition, ten different situations that make SPI implementations challenging in SMEs and seven factors that affect the success of SPI studies in SMEs were reported

Does biochemical profile of follicular fluid in women undergoing assisted reproduction vary between the right and left ovaries?

Background: Follicular fluid (FF) provides a substantial micro-milieu for the development of the oocytes. Moreover, the content of FF may also reflect the circulating biochemical environment and the changes in blood serum. Despite the known embriyological and histological similarities between right and left ovaries, differences do exist between their venous drainage, anatomical relations and cyclical physiological changes. The difference between the two ovaries in the response to controlled hyperstimulatons (COH) in IVF regimens was later confirmed by recent studies. The aim of this study was to compare the biochemical differences between the FFs yielded from the right and left ovaries in patients undergoing standart IVF treatment.Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted through the unexplained infertility patients with the age between 23-39 years, body mass index (BMI) ≤28 kg/m2, FSH ≤10 mIU/mL. FFs aspirated from the right and the left ovary of the patients were assayed for estradiol, calcium, phosphorus, uric acid, urea, total protein, AST, ALT, glucose, sodium, potassium and creatinine. A total of 10 patients undergoing IVF treatments were included.Results: The investigated parameters were not significantly different between FFs yielded from the right and left ovaries.Conclusion: According to the results of our study, biochemical profile of the aspirated FFs does not significantly differ between the right and the left ovary and consequently, either right or left ovaries provide similar micro-environments to the developing oocytes.

Prognostic factors of perioperative FLOT regimen in operable gastric and gastroesophageal junction tumors: real-life data (Turkish Oncology Group)

Background/aim: Perioperative FLOT regimen is a standard of care in locally advanced operable gastric and GEJ adenocarcinoma. We aimed to determine the efficacy, prognostic factors of perioperative FLOT chemotherapy in real-life gastric and GEJ tumors. Materials and methods: The data of patients who were treated with perioperative FLOT chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed from 34 different oncology centers in Turkey. Baseline clinical and demographic characteristics, pretreatment laboratory values, histological and molecular characteristics were recorded. Results: A total of 441 patients were included in the study. The median of age our study population was 60 years. The majority of patients with radiological staging were cT3-4N(+) (89.9%, n = 338). After median 13.5 months (IQR: 8.5–20.5) follow-up, the median overall survival was NR (95% CI, NR to NR), and median disease free survival was 22.9 (95% CI, 18.6 to 27.3) months. The estimated overall survival at 24 months was 62%. Complete pathological response (pCR) and near pCR was achieved in 23.8% of all patients. Patients with lower NLR or PLR have significantly longer median OS (p = 0.007 and p = 0.033, respectively), and patients with lower NLR have significantly longer median DFS (p = 0.039), but PLR level did not affect DFS (p = 0.062). The OS and DFS of patients with better ECOG performance scores and those who could receive FLOT as adjuvant chemotherapy instead of other regimens were found to be better. NLR was found to be independent prognostic factor for OS in the multivariant analysis. At least one adverse event reported in 57.6% of the patients and grade 3–4 toxicity was seen in 23.6% patients. Conclusion: Real-life perioperative FLOT regimen in operable gastric and GEJ tumors showed similar oncologic outcomes compared to clinical trials. Better performance status, receiving adjuvant chemotherapy as same regimen, low grade and low NLR and PLR improved outcomes in real-life. However, in multivariate analysis, only NLR affected OS. © TÜBİTAK

Hypertension Awareness İn Namik Kemal University Faculty Of Medicine Students And Employees

Hipertansiyon (HT) tüm dünyada ve Türkiye’de yaygın görülen bir hastalıktır. Türkiye’de HT prevelansı % 31.8’dir. HT aynı zamanda önemli hayati organları etkileyen, önemli morbidite ve mortaliteye yol açan, maliyeti yüksek bir hastalıktır. HT’un belki de en önemli özelliği semptomlarının silik olması nedeniyle farkındalığının düşük olmasıdır. Türk Hipertansiyon ve Böbrek Hastalıkları derneği tarafından yapılan HT prevelans çalışmasında, Türkiye’de HT farkındalığı %40 olarak saptanırken, Hipertansif bireylerin % 31’inin antihipertansif tedavi aldığı ve % 8’inin kan basıncının (KB) kontrol altında olduğu saptanmıştır. Biz çalışmamızda Tıp fakültesi öğrencileri ve çalışanları arasındaki HT farkındalığını değerlendirmeyi amaçladık.Hypertension (HT) is a common disease worldwide and in Turkey. The prevalence of HT in Turkey is 31.8%. HT is also a costly disease that affects important vital organs, leading to significant morbidity and mortality. The most important feature of HT is its low awareness because of its symptoms are faint. In the HT prevalence study conducted by the Turkish Hypertension and Kidney Disease Association, HT awareness was determined as 40%, 31% of the hypertensive individuals used antihypertensive medications and 8% of them were under control of blood pressure (BP). In our study, we aimed to evaluate HT awareness among medical faculty students and employee

Hypertension Awareness in Namik Kemal University Faculty of Medicine Students And Employees

Aim:Hypertension (HT) is a common disease worldwide and in Turkey. The prevalence of HT in Turkey is 31.8%. HT is also a costly disease that affects important vital organs, leading to significant morbidity and mortality. The most important feature of HT is its low awareness because of its symptoms are faint. In the HT prevalence study conducted by the Turkish Hypertension and Kidney Disease Association, HT awareness was determined as 40%, 31% of the hypertensive individuals used antihypertensive medications and 8% of them were under control of blood pressure (BP). In our study, we aimed to evaluate HT awareness among medical faculty students and employees.Material and Methods:A number of questions were asked to the employees and students in order to evaluate the knowledge of HT. Our question briefly; Is there HT in the family, have you ever done the BP measurement, where did you get the BP measurement, Do you have a BP measurement device at home, do you know the brand name of the BP measuring device? ın which case the BP measurement should be made, do you know about the HT frequency, Do you know the effects of HT, If you have HT and you are taking antihypertensive medications. After the questionnaire forms were completed, the data were analyzed.Results:A total of 456 people responded to the survey questions. The average age of the participants was 21.49 ± 4.10 (39.5% female) while 85.5% were university students. 45% in family with HT, 67.5% had a BP measurement, 42.8% had BP measurements in the hospital, 47.4% had the BP measuring device at home, 11.8% indicated that the measurement was performed routinely without any symptoms, 27% have knowledge about HT frequency , 45.8% had knowledge of HT effects, while 54 of those with high BP were receiving antihypertensive treatment. In the logistic regression analysis, those who had HT in the family, had a home BP measuring device, had information about the HT frequency, and knew the effects of HT were determined as parameters affecting the BP measurement.Conclusion:For the first time in our work, we evaluated HT awareness in NKU Medical faculty students and employees. We have found that our knowledge of HT frequency and effectiveness is very low. We think that awareness should be increased with training meetings

Respiratory Health Symptoms among Students Exposed to Different Levels of Air Pollution in a Turkish City

In this study, we aimed to investigate the frequency of respiratory health symptoms among high school students attending schools at industrial, urban and rural areas in a Turkish city. Three schools located in different zones of the city having different pollution characteristics were chosen based on the pollutant distribution maps using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software. A cross-sectional survey was performed among 667 high school students in the schools. Outdoor and indoor nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3) concentrations were also measured by passive samplers in the same schools to investigate possible routes of exposure. Chronic pulmonary disease (OR = 1.49; 95%CI: 1.11–1.99; p = 0.008), tightness in the chest (OR = 1.57; 95%CI: 1.22–2.02; p = 0.001), morning cough (OR = 1.81 95%CI: 1.19–2.75; p = 0.006) were higher among students in the industrial zone where nitrogen dioxide and ozone levels were also highest. There were no indoor sources of nitrogen dioxide and ozone exists in the schools except for the dining hall. As a conclusion, this study has noticed that air pollution and respiratory health problems among high school students are high in industrial zones and the use of passive samplers combined with GIS is an effective tool that may be used by public health researchers to identify pollutant zones and persons at risk

Temperature Effects Explain Continental Scale Distribution of Cyanobacterial Toxins

Insight into how environmental change determines the production and distribution of cyanobacterial toxins is necessary for risk assessment. Management guidelines currently focus on hepatotoxins (microcystins). Increasing attention is given to other classes, such as neurotoxins (e.g., anatoxin-a) and cytotoxins (e.g., cylindrospermopsin) due to their potency. Most studies examine the relationship between individual toxin variants and environmental factors, such as nutrients, temperature and light. In summer 2015, we collected samples across Europe to investigate the effect of nutrient and temperature gradients on the variability of toxin production at a continental scale. Direct and indirect effects of temperature were the main drivers of the spatial distribution in the toxins produced by the cyanobacterial community, the toxin concentrations and toxin quota. Generalized linear models showed that a Toxin Diversity Index (TDI) increased with latitude, while it decreased with water stability. Increases in TDI were explained through a significant increase in toxin variants such as MC-YR, anatoxin and cylindrospermopsin, accompanied by a decreasing presence of MC-LR. While global warming continues, the direct and indirect effects of increased lake temperatures will drive changes in the distribution of cyanobacterial toxins in Europe, potentially promoting selection of a few highly toxic species or strains.Peer reviewe