APQL: A process-model query language

As business process management technology matures, organisations acquire more and more business process models. The management of the resulting collections of process models poses real challenges. One of these challenges concerns model retrieval where support should be provided for the formulation and efficient execution of business process model queries. As queries based on only structural information cannot deal with all querying requirements in practice, there should be support for queries that require knowledge of process model semantics. In this paper we formally define a process model query language that is based on semantic relationships between tasks in process models and is independent of any particular process modelling notation

Territorial behavior in a university apartment complex

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1979 C527Master of Architectur

The link between service quality, corporate reputation and customer responses

The academic study of corporate reputation is still relatively new. At issue is how best to measure this important construct. This thesis argues that there are two, apparently competing, approaches and aims to shed light on both their inter-relationship and their relative efficacy in explaining the influence of reputation on the customer. The work also considers whether service quality, representing the experience the customer has of the firm, is more or less linked to either aspect of reputation. The first approach, based on reputation as cognition and drawing on role expectation theory, is exemplified by the Reputation Quotient (RQ). The second based upon reputation as affect and based upon prior work in brand personality is exemplified by the Corporate Character Scale (CCS). The study considers five variables and their inter-relationships, service quality, role-based reputation, character-based reputation, customer satisfaction and customer commitment. A number of hypotheses are proposed from the literature to predict such relationships. These are combined into a single model which is tested using Structural Equation Modelling and data from a survey of 642 customers of four retailers. The validity of the proposed model and of specific hypotheses was further examined by testing alternative models. The results show that: the two aspects of corporate reputation are both influenced by service quality, (rather than vice versa); that while there is some evidence to support the idea of a causal route from cognitive aspects of reputation and to the affective (rather than vice versa) that in reality the relationship might best be thought of as bidirectional i.e. as a co-variance. However, the affective aspect of corporate reputation appears more critical and therefore useful in determining satisfaction and commitment. Finally the causal ordering of reputation to satisfaction and commitment are supported, rather than vice versa.This study contributes to our understanding of the links between corporate reputation, service quality, customer satisfaction and commitment in a service setting. By doing so it also contributes to the practical management of corporate reputation by confirming the importance of the affective aspect of corporate reputation and of service quality in its creation.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Camera, Set, Action: automating film production via Business Process Management

The application of Business Process Management (BPM) technology can provide significant benefits to an organisation in terms of e.g. cost savings and responsiveness to changes. In this paper the application of this technology in the context of film production is investigated. A prototype named YAWL4Film was developed on top of a state-of-the-art BPM system. YAWL4Film supports collection and entering of production-related data and automatic generation of reports required during film production. This system was deployed in two pilot projects at the Australian Film Television and Radio School

VAMP-8 segregates mast cell–preformed mediator exocytosis from cytokine trafficking pathways

AbstractInflammatory responses by mast cells are characterized by massive exocytosis of prestored granular mediators followed by cytokine/chemokine release. The vesicular trafficking mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. Vesicular-associated membrane protein-8 (VAMP-8), a member of the soluble N-ethylmaleimide–sensitive factor (NSF) attachment protein receptor (SNARE) family of fusion proteins initially characterized in endosomal and endosomal-lysosomal fusion, may also function in regulated exocytosis. Here we show that in bone marrow–derived mast cells (BMMCs) VAMP-8 partially colocalized with secretory granules and redistributed upon stimulation. This was associated with increased SNARE complex formation with the target t-SNAREs, SNAP-23 and syntaxin-4. VAMP-8–deficient BMMCs exhibited a markedly reduced degranulation response after IgE+ antigen-, thapsigargin-, or ionomycin-induced stimulation. VAMP-8–deficient mice also showed reduced plasma histamine levels in passive systemic anaphylaxis experiments, while cytokine/chemokine release was not affected. Unprocessed TNF accumulated at the plasma membrane where it colocalized with a VAMP-3–positive vesicular compartment but not with VAMP-8. The findings demonstrate that VAMP-8 segregates secretory lysosomal granule exocytosis in mast cells from cytokine/chemokine molecular trafficking pathways

Effectiveness guidance document (EGD) for Chinese medicine trials: a consensus document

Background: There is a need for more Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) on Chinese medicine (CM) to inform clinical and policy decision-making. This document aims to provide consensus advice for the design of CER trials on CM for researchers. It broadly aims to ensure more adequate design and optimal use of resources in generating evidence for CM to inform stakeholder decision-making. Methods: The Effectiveness Guidance Document (EGD) development was based on multiple consensus procedures (survey, written Delphi rounds, interactive consensus workshop, international expert review). To balance aspects of internal and external validity, multiple stakeholders, including patients, clinicians, researchers and payers were involved in creating this document. Results: Recommendations were developed for “using available data” and “future clinical studies”. The recommendations for future trials focus on randomized trials and cover the following areas: designing CER studies, treatments, expertise and setting, outcomes, study design and statistical analyses, economic evaluation, and publication. Conclusion: The present EGD provides the first systematic methodological guidance for future CER trials on CM and can be applied to single or multi-component treatments. While CONSORT statements provide guidelines for reporting studies, EGDs provide recommendations for the design of future studies and can contribute to a more strategic use of limited research resources, as well as greater consistency in trial design

Multi-level-assistance robotic platform for navigation in the urinary system: design and preliminary tests

This work was supported by the ATLAS project. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 813782. This work was also partially supported by French State Funds managed by the “Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR)” through the “Investissements d’Avenir” (Investments for the Future) Program under Grant ANR-10-IAHU-02 (IHU-Strasbourg).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

The FANCM:p.Arg658* truncating variant is associated with risk of triple-negative breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a common disease partially caused by genetic risk factors. Germline pathogenic variants in DNA repair genes BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2, ATM, and CHEK2 are associated with breast cancer risk. FANCM, which encodes for a DNA translocase, has been proposed as a breast cancer predisposition gene, with greater effects for the ER-negative and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtypes. We tested the three recurrent protein-truncating variants FANCM:p.Arg658*, p.Gln1701*, and p.Arg1931* for association with breast cancer risk in 67,112 cases, 53,766 controls, and 26,662 carriers of pathogenic variants of BRCA1 or BRCA2. These three variants were also studied functionally by measuring survival and chromosome fragility in FANCM -/- patient-derived immortalized fibroblasts treated with diepoxybutane or olaparib. We observed that FANCM:p.Arg658* was associated with increased risk of ER-negative disease and TNBC (OR = 2.44, P = 0.034 and OR = 3.79; P = 0.009, respectively). In a country-restricted analysis, we confirmed the associations detected for FANCM:p.Arg658* and found that also FANCM:p.Arg1931* was associated with ER-negative breast cancer risk (OR = 1.96; P = 0.006). The functional results indicated that all three variants were deleterious affecting cell survival and chromosome stability with FANCM:p.Arg658* causing more severe phenotypes. In conclusion, we confirmed that the two rare FANCM deleterious variants p.Arg658* and p.Arg1931* are risk factors for ER-negative and TNBC subtypes. Overall our data suggest that the effect of truncating variants on breast cancer risk may depend on their position in the gene. Cell sensitivity to olaparib exposure, identifies a possible therapeutic option to treat FANCM-associated tumors