What Do Programmers of Parallel Machines Need? A Survey

We performed semistructured, open-ended interviews with 11 professional developers of parallel, scientific applications to determine how their programming time is spent and where tools could improve productivity. The subjects were selected from a variety of research laboratories, both industrial and governmental. The major findings were that programmers would prefer a global over a per-processor view of data structures, struggle with load balancing and optimizations, and need interactive tools for observing the behavior of parallel programs. Furthermore, handling and processing massive amounts of data in parallel is emerging as a new challenge

Case report: Personalized transcatheter approach to mid-aortic syndrome by in vitro simulation on a 3-dimensional printed model

An 8-year-old girl, diagnosed with mid-aortic syndrome (MAS) at the age of 2 months and under antihypertensive therapy, presented with severe systemic hypertension (>200/120 mmHg). Computed tomography (CT) examination revealed aortic aneurysm between severe stenoses at pre- and infra-renal segments, and occlusion of principal splanchnic arteries with peripheral collateral revascularization. Based on CT imaging, preoperative three-dimensional (3D) anatomy was reconstructed to assess aortic dimensions and a dedicated in vitro planning platform was designed to investigate the feasibility of a stenting procedure under fluoroscopic guidance. The in vitro system was designed to incorporate a translucent flexible 3D-printed patient-specific model filled with saline. A covered 8-zig 45-mm-long Cheatham-Platinum (CP) stent and a bare 8-zig, 34-mm-long CP stent were implanted with partial overlap to treat the stenoses (global peak-to-peak pressure gradient > 60 mmHg), excluding the aneurysm and avoiding risk of renal arteries occlusion. Percutaneous procedure was successfully performed with no residual pressure gradient and exactly replicating the strategy tested in vitro. Also, as investigated on the 3D-printed model, additional angioplasty was feasible across the frames of the stent to improve bilateral renal flow. Postoperative systemic pressure significantly reduced (130/70 mmHg) as well as dosage of antihypertensive therapy. This is the first report demonstrating the use of a 3D-printed model to effectively plan percutaneous intervention in a complex pediatric MAS case: taking full advantage of the combined use of a patient-specific 3D model and a dedicated in vitro platform, feasibility of the stenting procedure was successfully tested during pre-procedural assessment. Hence, use of patient-specific 3D-printed models and in vitro dedicated platforms is encouraged to assist pre-procedural planning and personalize treatment, thus enhancing intervention success

Transparency and (no) more in the Political Advertising Regulation

The EU has taken its first steps into a sensitive space by proposing a new Regulation on Political Advertising (RPA). Simply put, the RPA does two things, which this commentary will address in turn. First, it replaces national laws on the transparency of political advertising with a single set of rules. These provide progressively more information to citizens who see an ad, to the public through ad libraries, and to regulators and private actors who are authorised to request information. Second, the RPA tightens the GDPR’s ban on using sensitive data for targeted political advertising. It leaves member states free, however, to further regulate the use of political advertising.The RPA takes a number of important steps in political advertising law. It strengthens the transparency of the (so far largely unregulated) online political advertising environment. It expands ad libraries with information on targeting and funding. And it allows a broad range of private actors (including civil society and journalists) to request data from a broad range of companies (including ad agencies and small platforms). At the same time, the RPA not only represents the EU’s most significant effort to address concerns about political advertising’s democratic impact, but (because it fully harmonises transparency) also shapes how individuals, researchers, and national regulators can scrutinise political advertising. It is therefore important to determine whether the regulation lives up to the Commission’s hype

3^3He Structure and Mechanisms of p3p^3He Backward Elastic Scattering

The mechanism of $p^3$He backward elastic scattering is studied. It is found that the triangle diagrams with the subprocesses $pd\to ^3$He$\pi^0$, $pd^*\to ^3$He$\pi^0$ and $p(pp)\to^3$He$\pi^+$, where $d^*$ and $pp$ denote the singlet deuteron and diproton pair in the $^1S_0$ state, respectively, dominate in the cross section at 0.3-0.8 GeV, and their contribution is comparable with that for a sequential transfer of a $np$ pair at 1-1.5 GeV. The contribution of the $d^*+pp$, estimated on the basis of the spectator mechanism of the $p(NN)\to ^3$He$\pi$ reaction, increases the $p^3$He$\to ^3$He$p$ cross section by one order of magnitude as compared to the contribution of the deuteron alone. Effects of the initial and final states interaction are taken into account.Comment: 17 pages, Latex, 4 postscript figures, expanded version, accepted by Physical Review

Mitral Valve Patient-Specific Finite Element Modeling from Cardiac MRI: Application to an Annuloplasty Procedure

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