Role of radiography, MRI and FDG-PET/CT in diagnosing, staging and therapeutical evaluation of patients with multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma is a malignant B-cell neoplasm that involves the skeleton in approximately 80% of the patients. With an average age of 60 years and a 5-years survival of nearly 45% Brenner et al. (Blood 111:2516–2520, 35) the onset is to be classified as occurring still early in life while the disease can be very aggressive and debilitating. In the last decades, several new imaging techniques were introduced. The aim of this review is to compare the different techniques such as radiographic survey, multidetector computed tomography (MDCT), whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI), fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography- (FDG-PET) with or without computed tomography (CT), and 99mTc-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (99mTc-MIBI) scintigraphy. We conclude that both FDG-PET in combination with low-dose CT and whole-body MRI are more sensitive than skeleton X-ray in screening and diagnosing multiple myeloma. WB-MRI allows assessment of bone marrow involvement but cannot detect bone destruction, which might result in overstaging. Moreover, WB-MRI is less suitable in assessing response to therapy than FDG-PET. The combination of PET with low-dose CT can replace the golden standard, conventional skeletal survey. In the clinical practise, this will result in upstaging, due to the higher sensitivity

A model-driven framework for developing android-based classic multiplayer 2D board games

Mobile applications and game development are attractive fields in software engineering. Despite the advancement of programming languages and integrated development environments, there have always been many challenges for software and mobile game developers. Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) is a software engineering methodology that applies software modeling languages for modeling the problem domain. In this paradigm, the code is to be automatically generated from the models by applying different model transformations. Besides, manipulating models instead of code facilitates the discovery and resolution of errors due to the high level of abstraction. This study presents an approach and framework, called MAndroid, that generates Android-based classic multiplayer 2D board games in a fully automated fashion, relying on the concepts of MDE. Structural and behavioral dimensions of the game are first modeled in MAndroid. Models are then automatically transformed to code that can be run on any mobile phone and tablet running Android 4.4 or higher. In order to evaluate the proposed approach, three board games are fully implemented. Additionally, applicability, developer performance, simplicity and attractiveness of MAndroid are evaluated through a set of questionnaires. MAndroid is also evaluated technically by comparing it to other Android game-development frameworks. Results demonstrate the benefits of using MAndroid.PGC2018-094905-B-I00 US-1264651 RTI2018-101204-B-C21 P18-FR-289

Aspects that Need to Be Addressed During the Development of Location-Based Games

Part 1: Full PapersInternational audienceTo determine the suitability of a software development methodology (SDM) to aid in the development of location-based games, it is necessary to determine to what degree SDMs address certain aspects that need to be addressed in the process of developing location-based games.These aspects will be identified based on information gathered in a literature review focused on aspects needed for a successful mobile application development process, game development process, as well as a mobile game development process. This is done to ensure that these aspects will better represent the needs of developing location-based games.These aspects will be evaluated by using a survey to measure their importance in the development process and also to determine whether any aspects were overlooked