Automated Mapping of UML Activity Diagrams to Formal Specifications for Supporting Containment Checking

Business analysts and domain experts are often sketching the behaviors of a software system using high-level models that are technology- and platform-independent. The developers will refine and enrich these high-level models with technical details. As a consequence, the refined models can deviate from the original models over time, especially when the two kinds of models evolve independently. In this context, we focus on behavior models; that is, we aim to ensure that the refined, low-level behavior models conform to the corresponding high-level behavior models. Based on existing formal verification techniques, we propose containment checking as a means to assess whether the system's behaviors described by the low-level models satisfy what has been specified in the high-level counterparts. One of the major obstacles is how to lessen the burden of creating formal specifications of the behavior models as well as consistency constraints, which is a tedious and error-prone task when done manually. Our approach presented in this paper aims at alleviating the aforementioned challenges by considering the behavior models as verification inputs and devising automated mappings of behavior models onto formal properties and descriptions that can be directly used by model checkers. We discuss various challenges in our approach and show the applicability of our approach in illustrative scenarios.Comment: In Proceedings FESCA 2014, arXiv:1404.043

Computer Software Development (Galal-M-RP) for Concrete Pavement Analysis and Design

A computer expert system has been developed for structural design of rigid pavements entitled Galal-Muram Rigid Pavement (Galal-M-RP). The developed software program is a design package as well as educational and training tool. The user is assisted to select design inputs by a systematic rule-based expert. These rules are intended to determine AASHTO recommended values. These values are shown on the screen along with a brief explanation during the design process. Screens and various group boxes assist the user in selecting the design inputs. A sensitivity analysis option allows the user to confirm the required precision of the design inputs. The results obtained from this software were evaluated and compared to the manual design case study of Omdurman ring road, as well as with other design examples. They include examples by Huang; AASHO 1993 Guide and Kici, A. and Tigdemir, M. in 2017 applying user friendly software, in addition to lecture notes by Drakos in 2009 at University of Florida. Comparisons were found excellent with differences in pavement thickness ranging between 0.1 and 0.9 cm. Concrete pavement design software Galal-M-RP supersedes conventional design methods regarding errors and difficulties in addition to saving significant time. Keywords: Visua

Metastatic pulmonary calcification

Metastatic pulmonary calcification (MPC) may develop in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism, related to end-stage renal disease (ESRD).1 The histologic pulmonary findings show calcium deposition in the lung interstitium, alveolar septa and bronchial walls.2 We present a patient with CT findings of MPC that resolved with medical treatment for secondary hyperparathyroidism. To our knowledge, complete resolution of metastatic pulmonary calcification following treatment has not been previously described in the literature

The SPRED1 Variants Repository for Legius Syndrome

Legius syndrome (LS) is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by germline loss-of-function mutations in the sprouty-related, EVH1 domain containing 1 (SPRED1) gene. The phenotype of LS is multiple café au lait macules (CALM) with other commonly reported manifestations, including intertriginous freckling, lipomas, macrocephaly, and learning disabilities including ADHD and developmental delays. Since the earliest signs of LS and neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) syndrome are pigmentary findings, the two are indistinguishable and individuals with LS may meet the National Institutes of Health diagnostic criteria for NF1 syndrome. However, individuals are not known to have an increased risk for developing tumors (compared with NF1 patients). It is therefore important to fully characterize the phenotype differences between NF1 and LS because the prognoses of these two disorders differ greatly. We have developed a mutation database that characterizes the known variants in the SPRED1 gene in an effort to facilitate this process for testing and interpreting results. This database is free to the public and will be updated quarterly

FRI0345 HEAD-TO-HEAD STUDY EVALUATING THE COMBINED ACR50/PASI100 TREATMENT RESPONSE OF IXEKIZUMAB VERSUS ADALIMUMAB: INDIVIDUAL PATIENT DATA FROM A RANDOMIZED, OPEN-LABEL STUDY IN BIOLOGIC-NAÏVE PATIENTS WITH PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS THROUGH WEEK 52

Background:Multiple biologic DMARDs (bDMARDs) are available for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis (PsA), but there are few direct comparisons of their efficacy and safety. In SPIRIT-H2H study, ixekizumab (IXE), a high-affinity monoclonal antibody selectively targeting IL-17A, was superior to adalimumab (ADA) at Week 24 for simultaneous achievement of ACR50 and 100% improvement from baseline in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI 100) in patients (pts) with active PsA. Efficacy on other PsA domains was shown.1Objectives:To provide individual patient data demonstrating the simultaneous improvement in musculoskeletal and skin symptoms as assessed by American College of Rheumatology (ACR) response criteria and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) percent improvement, respectively.Methods:Pts with active PsA fulfilling Classification for Psoriatic Arthritis (CASPAR) criteria, ≥3/66 tender and ≥3/68 swollen joints, ≥3% psoriasis body surface area (BSA) involvement, no prior treatment with bDMARDs, and prior inadequate response to ≥1 conventional synthetic DMARD (csDMARD), were randomized 1:1 to open-label IXE or ADA (label dosing according to presence/absence of moderate-to-severe psoriasis [baseline BSA≥10%, PASI≥12, and static Physician's Global Assessment≥3]) in Study I1F-MC-RHCF (NCT03151551). In this analysis, max ACRx was defined as the maximum ACRx response a patient can achieve where ACRx derivation follows the typical ACR response criteria: ≥x% improvement in both tender joint count (TJC) and swollen joint count (SJC) and ≥x% improvement in ≥3 of the 5 remaining components, Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index total score (HAQ-DI), C-reactive protein (CRP), Patient Global Assessment (PatGA), Physician Global Assessment (PhyGA), and patient assessment of joint pain (patJP). Missing data were imputed using the last observation carried forward (LOCF) method.Results:At baseline, demographic and disease characteristics were similar across treatment groups. Mean baseline values for the ACR core data set were 20.2 (TJC), 10.4 (SJC), 63.8 (PatGA), 10.2 (CRP), 59.2 (PhyGA), 1.2 (HAQ-DI), and 61.0 (patJP). Mean PASI total score was 7.8. Figures 1 and 2 show the maximum ACR response by PASI percent improvement at Weeks 24 and 52, respectively. Independent of joint improvement, more ixekizumab-treated patients compared to adalimumab-treated patients achieved ≥PASI 90 (76.6% vs. 57.5% at week 24 and 83.0% vs. 59.6% at Week 52). Evaluation of patient-level data shows that while very few patients had joint improvement but little skin improvement (max ACRx≥50 and PASI<50; Figures 1 and 2) in both treatment arms (IXE: 1.8%; ADA: 1.4%), fewer patients treated with IXE had no to little improvement in both joint and skin symptoms (PASI<50 and max ACRx<50) than those treated with ADA at Week 24 (IXE: 3.6%; ADA: 13.3%). A similar pattern was observed at Week 52 (Figure 2).Conclusion:Ixekizumab treatment was superior to adalimumab when evaluating the combination of musculoskeletal and skin symptoms of PsA as measured by ACR response and PASI response.References:[1]Mease PJ, Smolen JS, Behrens F et al., Ann Rheum Dis 2019; 79(1):123-131.Disclosure of Interests:Arthur Kavanaugh Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Amgen, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Janssen, Pfizer, Gilead, UCB, Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Janssen, Pfizer, Gilead, UCB, Ennio Lubrano: None declared, Talia Muram Shareholder of: Eli Lilly and Company, Employee of: Eli Lilly and Company, Chen-Yen Lin Shareholder of: Eli Lilly and Company, Employee of: Eli Lilly and Company, Soyi Liu Leage Shareholder of: Eli Lilly and Company, Employee of: Eli Lilly and Company, Filip van den Bosch Consultant of: AbbVie, Celgene Corporation, Eli Lilly, Galapagos, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB, Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Celgene Corporation, Eli Lilly, Galapagos, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB, Lars Erik Kristensen Consultant of: UCB Pharma (Advisory Board), Sannofi (Advisory Board), Abbvie (Advisory Board), Biogen (Advisory Board), Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Amgen, Biogen, Bristol-Myers Squibb,Celgene, Eli Lilly, Gilead, Forward Pharma, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB Pharm

Histopathological Spectrum of Neoplastic and Non Neoplastic Brain Lesions at a Tertiary Care Centre in South India- A Retrospective Observational Study

Introduction: Brain lesions can be caused by varied etiological factors like neoplastic, infectious, inflammatory and vascular diseases. Accurate diagnosis in very important for correct neurosurgical treatment. A retrospective histopathological study of brain lesions is of utmost importance because as it can demonstrate the changes in the spectrum of brain lesions, burden of disease in the community, can reveal the possible risk factors and can suggest probable treatment methods for various neoplastic and non neoplastic brain lesions. Aim: To evaluate the incidence, age distribution, gender distribution, and histopathological spectrum of neoplastic and non neoplastic lesions of brain. Materials and Methods: This retrospective observational study was conducted in the Department of Pathology at Narayana Medical College, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India, from January 2019 to December 2021. Total 216 cases were studied. The tumours were classified under World Health Organisation (WHO) classification. To test the mean difference between the groups, Independent sample t-test was done. Results: Out of 216 cases, 180 (83%) were neoplastic and 36 (17%) were non neoplastic lesions. The male:female ratio was 1.03:1. Non neoplastic lesions were common in males (22, 61.11%), while neoplastic lesions were common in females (92, 51.11%). The most common age group affected was 41-50 years (55, 25.46%). Astrocytoma (41, 22.77%) followed by meningioma (40, 22.22%) were the common neoplastic tumours and haematoma (7, 19.44%) was the most common non neoplastic lesion in adults. Common tumour in children (<18 years) was diffuse fibrillary astrocytoma (3/11, 27.27%) and chronic inflammatory pathology was the common non neoplastic lesion (2/11, 18.18%). Conclusion: Majority of cases were seen in 41-50 years age group. Astrocytoma was the common neoplastic tumour and haematoma was the common non neoplastic lesion in adults. Diffuse fibrillary astrocytoma was the common tumour and chronic inflammatory pathology was the common non neoplastic lesion in children

Experimental study of the heat transfer in a falling film evaporator: influence of the co-flowing vapor

Paper presented to the 10th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Florida, 14-16 July 2014.A large number of industrial processes are based on the concentration of liquid products by means of falling-film evaporation. In the dehydration of dairy products, concentrating a fluid by evaporating represents one of the most important steps of the whole drying process. Among the advantages of this technology is that it is possible to operate within small temperature differences which results in low heat consumption. In this sense, it is necessary to increase the amount of removed water during the falling-film evaporation to reduce the energy cost of the overall process. However, reducing the fraction of the solvent leads to an increase in viscosity of the product which can show non-Newtonian features. This aspect significantly affects the heat transfer, that is to say, the higher the solid content, the lower the heat transfer coefficient. One of the possible solutions to this drawback consists in drawing maximum benefit from the interaction between the fluid film and the co-flow of the gaseous phase resulting from the evaporation process. Unfortunately, accurate studies of the effect of co-flow on evaporative falling films are very rare and difficult to perform because of the high costs of the implementation of a suitable experimental apparatus. In this work, the experimental study of the influence of the co-flow on the heat transfer coefficient is presented as a function of both the solid content and the mass flow rate of the feed. The experimental set-up, consisting in a unique industrial pilot scale evaporator, provides the possibility to obtain results useful for realistic industrial conditions. Tests were conducted with varying dry solid content from 10 to 50%. The results show that the co-flow has the effect to decrease the potential for fouling/poor wetting. Above this, the influence on the heat transfer is not as large as expected because of the dominant influence of the viscosity.cf201

Understanding the association between skin involvement and joint activity in patients with psoriatic arthritis: experience from the Corrona Registry.

Objective: To compare the characteristics of patients with psoriatic arthritis among patient groups stratified by degree of skin and joint involvement, and to evaluate the relationship between skin severity and joint activity. Methods: Body surface area (BSA) and Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) at enrolment were analysed. Patient characteristics were stratified by skin severity and joint activity. Baseline patient characteristics, clinical and disease characteristics and patient-reported outcomes were compared. The strength of the relationship of skin severity and joint activity was evaluated using methods for categorical variables (χ Results: 1542 adult patients in the Corrona Psoriatic Arthritis/Spondyloarthritis Registry enrolled between 21 May 2013 and 20 September 2016 were analysed. Most patients in the BSA \u3e3%/CDAI moderate/high subgroup had worse clinical and patient-reported outcomes. A significant (p Conclusion: Skin severity is modestly correlated with joint activity, and patients with higher skin severity are two times more likely to have increased joint involvement. Clinicians need to address both skin severity and joint activity in treatment decisions

Differentiation of Recently Infarcted Myocardium from Chronic Myocardial Scar: The Value of Contrast-Enhanced SSFP-Based Cine MR Imaging

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate whether the signal intensity (SI) of myocardial infarction (MI) on contrast enhanced (CE)-cine MRI is useful for differentiating recently infarcted myocardium from chronic scar. This study included 24 patients with acute MI (36-84 years, mean age: 57) and 19 patients with chronic MI (44-80 years, mean age: 64). The diagnosis of acute MI was based on the presence of typical symptoms, i.e. elevation of the cardiac enzymes and the absence of any remote infarction history. The diagnosis of chronic MI was based on a history of MI or coronary artery disease of more than one month duration and on the absence of any recent MI within the previous six months. Retrospectively, the ECG-gated breath-hold cine imaging was performed in the short axis plane using a segmented, balanced, turbo-field, echo-pulse sequence two minutes after the administration of Gd-DTPA at a dose of 0.2 mmol/kg body weight. Delayed contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE MRI) in the same plane was performed 10 to 15 minutes after contrast administration, and this was served as the gold standard of reference. The SI of the infarcted myocardium on the CE-cine MRI was compared with that of the normal myocardium on the same image. The area of abnormal SI on the CE-cine MRI was compared with the area of hyperenhancement on the DCE MRI. The area of high SI on the CE-cine MRI was detected in 23 of 24 patients with acute MI (10 with homogenous high SI, 13 high SI with subendocardial low SI, and one with iso SI). The area of high SI on the CE-cine MRI was larger than that seen on the DCE MRI (p < 0.05). In contrast, the areas of chronic MI were seen as iso-SI with thin subendocardial low SI on the CE-cine MR in all the chronic MI patients. The presence of high SI on both the CE-cine MRI and the DCE MRI is more sensitive (95.8%) for determining the age of a MI than the presence of myocardial thinning (66.7%). This study showed the different SI patterns between recently infarcted myocardium and chronic scar on the CE-cine MRI. CE-cine MRI is thought to be quite useful for determining the age of myocardial infarction, in addition to its utility for assessing myocardial contractility