Intracochlear schwannoma presenting as diffuse cochlear enhancement: diagnostic challenges of a rare cause of deafness

Intracochlear schwannoma is a rare, treatable, cause of unilateral hearing loss. Due to the small size, position, and variable clinical and imaging features, diagnosis presents a significant challenge and is often delayed. We present a case of a patient with an intracochlear schwannoma presenting as a diffuse enhancement of the cochlea, mimicking an infectious or inflammatory process. The absence of focal nodularity in this lesion on multiple high-resolution MRI examinations led to a delay of over 3 years from the patient’s initial presentation to surgical diagnosis. Clinical history and examination, imaging features, pathologic findings, and surgical management options are described

Consensus-based technical recommendations for clinical translation of renal BOLD MRI.

Harmonization of acquisition and analysis protocols is an important step in the validation of BOLD MRI as a renal biomarker. This harmonization initiative provides technical recommendations based on a consensus report with the aim to move towards standardized protocols that facilitate clinical translation and comparison of data across sites. We used a recently published systematic review paper, which included a detailed summary of renal BOLD MRI technical parameters and areas of investigation in its supplementary material, as the starting point in developing the survey questionnaires for seeking consensus. Survey data were collected via the Delphi consensus process from 24 researchers on renal BOLD MRI exam preparation, data acquisition, data analysis, and interpretation. Consensus was defined as ≥ 75% unanimity in response. Among 31 survey questions, 14 achieved consensus resolution, 12 showed clear respondent preference (65-74% agreement), and 5 showed equal (50/50%) split in opinion among respondents. Recommendations for subject preparation, data acquisition, processing and reporting are given based on the survey results and review of the literature. These technical recommendations are aimed towards increased inter-site harmonization, a first step towards standardization of renal BOLD MRI protocols across sites. We expect this to be an iterative process updated dynamically based on progress in the field

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

On Querying UML data models with OCL

UML is the de-facto standard language for Object-Oriented analysis and design of information systems. Persistent storage and extraction of data in such systems is supported by databases and query languages. UML sustains many aspects of software engineering; however, it does not provide explicit facility for writing queries. It is crucial for any such query language to have, at least, the expressive power of Relational Algebra, which serves as a benchmark for evaluating its expressiveness. The combination of UML and OCL can form queries with the required expressive power. However, certain extensions to OCL are essential if it is to be used effectively as a Query Language. The adoption of the ideas presented in this paper will enable query expressions to be written using OCL, that are elegant and ideally suited for use in conjunction with UML data models. This technique is illustrated by expressing the UML equivalent of an example Relational data model and associated query expressions

An Approach to Classify Semi-structured Objects

Abstract. Several advanced applications, such as those dealing with the Web, need to handle data whose structure is not known a-priori. Such requirement severely limits the applicability of traditional database techniques, that are based on the fact that the structure of data (e.g. the database schema) is known before data are entered into the database. Moreover, in traditional database systems, whenever a data item (e.g. a tuple, an object, and so on) is entered, the application specifies the collection (e.g. relation, class, and so on) the data item belongs to. Collections are the basis for handling queries and indexing and therefore a proper classification of data items in collections is crucial. In this paper, we address this issue in the context of an extended object-oriented data model. We propose an approach to classify objects, created without specifying the class they belong to, in the most appropriate class of the schema, that is, the class closest to the object state. In particular, we introduce the notion of weak membership of an object in a class, and define two measures, the conformity and the heterogeneity degrees, exploited by our classification algorithm to identify the most appropriate class in which an object can be classified, among the ones of which it is a weak member

Älyautojen nykytilanne ja tulevaisuuden haasteet

Opinnäytetyössä käytiin yleisesti läpi älyautoilun nykyistä ja mahdollista tulevaisuuden tilannetta. Työn tavoitteena oli tutustua älyautoihin ja niiden ominaisuuksien hyviin ja huonoihin puoliin, sekä pohtia älyautoilun teoreettista tulevaisuutta ja kuinka älyautoihin kohdistuvaa epäluottamusta saataisiin vähenemään. Aluksi käytiin läpi älyautoilun historiaa ja eri älyauton komponentteja, jonka jälkeen tutustuttiin älyautoihin liittyviin riskeihin ja niiden välttämiseen. Lopuksi käsiteltiin mahdollisia älyautoiluun tulevaisuudessa liittyviä asioita ja niiden vaikutusta ihmisten jokapäiväiseen elämään. Työn lopputuloksena saatiin hyvin ajankohtainen käsitys siitä, missä vaiheessa älyautojen kehitys tällä hetkellä menee ja kuinka tulevaisuudessa älyautojen valmistajat voivat älyautojen luotettavuutta parantaa.In the thesis, the current and possible future situation of self-driving cars was generally reviewed. The point of the thesis was to get to know the self-driving car, both its good and bad aspects, and to reflect on the theoretical future of self-driving cars and how to reduce the mistrust regarding them. At first, the history and different components of self-driving car were reviewed, and after that we get to know about the risks associated with self-driving cars and how to avoid them. Finally, the possible future issues of self-driving cars and their impact on people’s everyday lives were considered. The result of the work was a very timely understanding of the stage at which the development of self-driving cars is at this point in time, and how in the future the man-ufacturers of self-driving cars can improve their reliability