Comparison of Business Motivation Model and Intentional Distribution

Eesmärkide modelleerimine on tähtis, et mõista erinevate tarkvara või arhitektuuri valikute tagamaid. Praegu leidub mitmeid eesmärkidele suunatud modelleerimise võtteid. Selles töös on kasutatud semiotic quality framework’i, et võrrelda Business Motivation Model’i (BMM) ja Intentional Distribution’i (i*) kvaliteeti üldistatud tasandil. Töös hinnatakse BMM-i ja i*-i keele kvaliteeti ja mudeli kvaliteeti. Lisaks kirjeldatakse kuidas BMM-i ja i*-i keeli saab kasutada äri protsessi mudeli, siin business processes model and notation, tegemisel.Goal modelling is an important activity to reason why different software decisions are taken, or architecture solutions are implemented. Currently there exist a number of goal-oriented modelling approaches. In this thesis, the semiotic quality framework is applied to compare the quality of the business motivation model (BMM) and Intentional Distribution (i*) modelling languages at the coarse-grained level. The thesis reports on the BMM and i* language quality and model quality. The thesis also presents observations on how the BMM and i* modelling languages could be used to reason on and support construction of the business process models expressed in business processes model and notation

Endovascular therapy versus no endovascular therapy in patients receiving best medical management for acute isolated occlusion of the posterior cerebral artery : A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background and purpose Endovascular therapy (EVT) is increasingly reported for treatment of isolated posterior cerebral artery (PCA) occlusions although its clinical benefit remains uncertain. This study-level meta-analysis investigated the functional outcomes and safety of EVT and best medical management (BMM) compared to BMM alone for treatment of PCA occlusion stroke. Methods We conducted a literature search in PubMed, Web of Science and Embase for studies in patients with isolated PCA occlusion stroke treated with EVT + BMM or BMM including intravenous thrombolysis. There were no randomized trials and all studies were retrospective. The primary outcome was modified Rankin Scale score of 0-2 at 3 months, while safety outcomes included mortality rate and incidence of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH). Results Twelve studies with a total of 679 patients were included in the meta-analysis: 338 patients with EVT + BMM and 341 patients receiving BMM alone. Good functional outcome at 3 months was achieved in 58.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 43.83-70.95) of patients receiving EVT + BMM and 48.1% (95% CI 40.35-55.92) of patients who received BMM alone, with respective mortality rates of 12.6% (95% CI 7.30-20.93) and 12.3% (95% CI 8.64-17.33). sICH occurred in 4.2% (95% CI 2.47-7.03) of patients treated with EVT + BMM and 3.2% (95% CI 1.75-5.92) of patients treated with BMM alone. Comparative analyses were performed on studies that included both treatments and these demonstrated no significant differences. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that EVT represents a safe treatment for patients with isolated PCA occlusion stroke. There were no differences in clinical or safety outcomes between treatments, supporting randomization of future patients into distal vessel occlusion trials.Peer reviewe

A novel virus removal filter and its application

The novel virus removal membrane BMM and the commercially available filter PLANOVAâ„¢ based on this system provide results both reproducible and predictable for virus removal based on a sieving mechanism. The BMM shows good removability of most viruses, including human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B and C and other microorganisms. In addition, immune complexes can be removed efficiently with a good protein permeability. Although BMM has already been shown to be effective in the field of drug manufacture, the combination of virus removal using BMM with virus inactivation offers opportunities for the wider clinical application of BMM, including blood transfusion.Biomedical Reviews 1996; 6: 95-109

The effect of Brief Mindfulness Meditation (BMM) on reducing anxiety in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: Pengaruh Brief Mindfulness Meditation (BMM) untuk menurunkan kecemasan pada pasien kanker yang menjalani kemoterapi

Abstract. Anxiety is one of the psychological problems that affect the condition of cancer patients. This study aims to determine the effect of Brief Mindfulness Meditation (BMM) in reducing anxiety in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment. This study uses a quasi-experimental design with a pre-posttest design with a control group. The instrument used is STAI (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory). The BMM intervention was given for 25 minutes three times during the chemotherapy process. The results showed that there was a significant change in anxiety scores (state & trait) in the treatment group after being given the BMM intervention (p < .005). This shows that the BMM intervention affects reducing anxiety in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Keywords: Anxiety, Cancer Patient, Chemotherapy, Brief Mindfulness Meditation, Abstrak. Kecemasan menjadi salah satu permasalahan psikologis yang mempengaruhi kondisi pasien kanker.Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh pemberian brief mindfulness meditation (BMM) dalam menurunkan kecemasan pada pasien kanker yang menjalani pengobatan kemoterapi. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian kuantitatif desain quasi experiment dengan rancangan pre–posttest with control group dan menggunakan alat ukur STAI (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory). Intervensi BMM diberikan dalam durasi 25 menit selama tiga kali selama proses kemoterapi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terdapat perubahan skor kecemasan (state & trait) yang signifikan pada kelompok perlakuan setelah diberikan intervensi BMM (p < .005). Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa intervensi BMM berpengaruh terhadap penurunan kecemasan pasien kanker. Kata kunci: Brief Mindfulness Meditation, Kecemasan, Kemoterapi, Pasien Kanke

Accuracy and the influence of marrow fat on quantitative CT and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry measurements of the femoral neck in vitro

Abstract Bone mineral measurements with quantitative computed tomography (QCT) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) were compared with chemical analysis (ChA) to determine (1) the accuracy and (2) the influence of bone marrow fat. Total bone mass of 19 human femoral necks in vitro was determined with QCT and DXA before and after defatting. ChA consisted of defatting and decalcification of the femoral neck samples for determination of bone mineral mass (BmM) and amount of fat. The mean BmM was 4.49 g. Mean fat percentage was 37.2% (23.3%–48.5%). QCT, DXA and ChA before and after defatting were all highly correlated (r>0.96,p<0.0001). Before defatting the QCT values were on average 0.35 g less than BmM and the DXA values were on average 0.65 g less than BmM. After defatting, all bone mass values increased; QCT values were on average 0.30 g more than BmM and DXA values were 0.29 g less than BmM. It is concluded that bone mineral measurements of the femoral neck with QCT and DXA are highly correlated with the chemically determined bone mineral mass and that both techniques are influenced by the femoral fat content

Refining trophic dynamics through multi-factor Bayesian mixing models: A case study of subterranean beetles

© 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd Food web dynamics are vital in shaping the functional ecology of ecosystems. However, trophic ecology is still in its infancy in groundwater ecosystems due to the cryptic nature of these environments. To unravel trophic interactions between subterranean biota, we applied an interdisciplinary Bayesian mixing model design (multi-factor BMM) based on the integration of faunal C and N bulk tissue stable isotope data (d13C and d15N) with radiocarbon data (?14C), and prior information from metagenomic analyses. We further compared outcomes from multi-factor BMM with a conventional isotope double proxy mixing model (SIA BMM), triple proxy (d13C, d15N, and ?14C, multi-proxy BMM), and double proxy combined with DNA prior information (SIA + DNA BMM) designs. Three species of subterranean beetles (Paroster macrosturtensis, Paroster mesosturtensis, and Paroster microsturtensis) and their main prey items Chiltoniidae amphipods (AM1: Scutachiltonia axfordi and AM2: Yilgarniella sturtensis), cyclopoids and harpacticoids from a calcrete in Western Australia were targeted. Diet estimations from stable isotope only models (SIA BMM) indicated homogeneous patterns with modest preferences for amphipods as prey items. Multi-proxy BMM suggested increased—and species-specific—predatory pressures on amphipods coupled with high rates of scavenging/predation on sister species. SIA + DNA BMM showed marked preferences for amphipods AM1 and AM2, and reduced interspecific scavenging/predation on Paroster species. Multi-factorial BMM revealed the most precise estimations (lower overall SD and very marginal beetles' interspecific interactions), indicating consistent preferences for amphipods AM1 in all the beetles' diets. Incorporation of genetic priors allowed crucial refining of the feeding preferences, while integration of more expensive radiocarbon data as a third proxy (when combined with genetic data) produced more precise outcomes but close dietary reconstruction to that from SIA + DNA BMM. Further multidisciplinary modeling from other groundwater environments will help elucidate the potential behind these designs and bring light to the feeding ecology of one the most vital ecosystems worldwide

Distance and intersection number in the curve graph of a surface

In this work, we study the cellular decomposition of $S$ induced by a filling pair of curves $v$ and $w$, $Dec_{v,w}(S) = S - (v \cup w)$, and its connection to the distance function $d(v,w)$ in the curve graph of a closed orientable surface $S$ of genus $g$. Efficient geodesics were introduced by the first author in joint work with Margalit and Menasco in 2016, giving an algorithm that begins with a pair of non-separating filling curves that determine vertices $(v,w)$ in the curve graph of a closed orientable surface $S$ and computing from them a finite set of {\it efficient} geodesics. We extend the tools of efficient geodesics to study the relationship between distance $d(v,w)$, intersection number $i(v,w)$, and $Dec_{v,w}(S)$. The main result is the development and analysis of particular configurations of rectangles in $Dec_{v,w}(S)$ called \textit{spirals}. We are able to show that, in some special cases, the efficient geodesic algorithm can be used to build an algorithm that reduces $i(v,w)$ while preserving $d(v,w)$. At the end of the paper, we note a connection of our work to the notion of extending geodesics.Comment: 20 pages, 17 figures. Changes: A key lemma (Lemma 5.6) was revised to be more precise, an irrelevant proposition (Proposition 2.1) and example were removed, unnecessary background material was taken out, some of the definitions and cited results were clarified (including added figures,) and Proposition 5.7 and Theorem 5.8 have been merged into a single theorem, Theorem 4.