Formal analysis of executions of organizational scenarios based on process-oriented specifications

Abstract This paper presents various formal techniques for analysis of executions of organizational scenarios based on specifications of organizations. Organizational specifications describe (prescribe) ordering and timing relations on organizational processes, modes of use of resources, allocations of actors to processes, etc. The actual execution may diverge from scenarios (pre)defined by a specification. A part of techniques proposed in this paper is dedicated to establishing the correspondence between a formalized execution (i.e., a trace) and the corresponding specification. Other techniques proposed in this paper provide the analyst with wide possibilities to evaluate organizational performance and to identify bottlenecks and other inefficiencies in the organizational operation. For the proposed formal analysis the order-sorted predicate Temporal Trace Language (TTL) is used and it is supported by the dedicated software tool TTL Checker. The analysis approaches considered in this paper are illustrated by a case study in the context of an organization from the security domain. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009

Normal tissue toxicity after small field hypofractionated stereotactic body radiation

Stereotactic body radiation (SBRT) is an emerging tool in radiation oncology in which the targeting accuracy is improved via the detection and processing of a three-dimensional coordinate system that is aligned to the target. With improved targeting accuracy, SBRT allows for the minimization of normal tissue volume exposed to high radiation dose as well as the escalation of fractional dose delivery. The goal of SBRT is to minimize toxicity while maximizing tumor control. This review will discuss the basic principles of SBRT, the radiobiology of hypofractionated radiation and the outcome from published clinical trials of SBRT, with a focus on late toxicity after SBRT. While clinical data has shown SBRT to be safe in most circumstances, more data is needed to refine the ideal dose-volume metrics