Understanding software development: Processes, organisations and technologies

Our primary goal is to understand what people do when they develop software and how long it takes them to do it. To get a proper perspective on software development processes we must study them in their context — that is, in their organizational and technological context. An extremely important means of gaining the needed understanding and perspective is to measure what goes on. Time and motion studies constitute a proven approach to understanding and improving any engineering processes. We believe software processes are no different in this respect; however, the fact that software development yields a collaborative intellectual, as opposed to physical, output calls for careful and creative measurement techniques. In attempting to answer the question "what do people do in software development? " we have experimented with two novel forms of data collection in the software development field: time diaries and direct observation. We found both methods to be feasible and to yield useful information about time utilization. In effect, we have quantified the effect of these social processes using the observational data. Among the insights gained from our time diary experiment are 1) developers switch between developments to minimize blocking and maximize overall throughput, and 2) there is a high degree of dynamic reassignment in response to changing project and organizational priorities. Among the insights gained from our direct observation experiment are 1) time diaries are a valid and accurate instrument with respect to their level of resolution, 2) unplanned interruptions constitute a significant time factor, and 3) the amount and kinds of communication are significant time and social factors.- 2-1

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

Data-driven generation of 4D velocity profiles in the aneurysmal ascending aorta

Background and Objective: Numerical simulations of blood flow are a valuable tool to investigate the pathophysiology of ascending thoratic aortic aneurysms (ATAA). To accurately reproduce in vivo hemodynamics, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models must employ realistic inflow boundary conditions (BCs). However, the limited availability of in vivo velocity measurements, still makes researchers resort to idealized BCs. The aim of this study was to generate and thoroughly characterize a large dataset of synthetic 4D aortic velocity profiles sampled on a 2D cross-section along the ascending aorta with features similar to clinical cohorts of patients with ATAA. Methods: Time-resolved 3D phase contrast magnetic resonance (4D flow MRI) scans of 30 subjects with ATAA were processed through in-house code to extract anatomically consistent cross-sectional planes along the ascending aorta, ensuring spatial alignment among all planes and interpolating all velocity fields to a reference configuration. Velocity profiles of the clinical cohort were extensively characterized by computing flow morphology descriptors of both spatial and temporal features. By exploiting principal component analysis (PCA), a statistical shape model (SSM) of 4D aortic velocity profiles was built and a dataset of 437 synthetic cases with realistic properties was generated. Results: Comparison between clinical and synthetic datasets showed that the synthetic data presented similar characteristics as the clinical population in terms of key morphological parameters. The average velocity profile qualitatively resembled a parabolic-shaped profile, but was quantitatively characterized by more complex flow patterns which an idealized profile would not replicate. Statistically significant correlations were found between PCA principal modes of variation and flow descriptors. Conclusions: We built a data-driven generative model of 4D aortic inlet velocity profiles, suitable to be used in computational studies of blood flow. The proposed software system also allows to map any of the generated velocity profiles to the inlet plane of any virtual subject given its coordinate set

Lung anatomy, energy load, and ventilator-induced lung injury

High tidal volume can cause ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI), but positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is thought to be protective. We aimed to find the volumetric VILI threshold and see whether PEEP is protective per se or indirectly

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

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Interventions for individuals with high levels of needle fear: Systematic review of randomized controlled trials and quasi-randomized controlled trials

Background: This systematic review evaluated the effectiveness of exposure-based psychological and physical interventions for the management of high levels of needle fear and/or phobia and fainting in children and adults. Design/Methods: A systematic review identified relevant randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials of children, adults, or both with high levels of needle fear, including phobia (if not available, then populations with other specific phobias were included). Critically important outcomes were self-reported fear specific to the feared situation and stimulus (psychological interventions) or fainting (applied muscle tension). Data were pooled using standardized mean difference (SMD) or relative risk with 95% confidence intervals. Results: The systematic review included 11 trials. In vivo exposurebased therapy for children 7 years and above showed benefit on specific fear (n=234; SMD: -1.71 [95% CI: -2.72, -0.7]). In vivo exposure-based therapy with adults reduced fear of needles posttreatment (n=20; SMD: -1.09 [-2.04, -0.14]) but not at 1-year follow-up (n=20; SMD: -0.28 [-1.16, 0.6]). Compared with single session, a benefit was observed for multiple sessions of exposure-based therapy posttreatment (n=93; SMD: -0.66 [-1.08, -0.24]) but not after 1 year (n=83; SMD: -0.37 [-0.87, 0.13]). Non in vivo e.g., imaginal exposure-based therapy in children reduced specific fear posttreatment (n=41; SMD: -0.88 [-1.7, -0.05]) and at 3 months (n=24; SMD: -0.89 [-1.73, -0.04]). Non in vivo exposure-based therapy for adults showed benefit on specific fear (n=68; SMD: -0.62 [-1.11, -0.14]) but not procedural fear (n=17; SMD: 0.18 [-0.87, 1.23]). Applied tension showed benefit on fainting posttreatment (n=20; SMD: -1.16 [-2.12, -0.19]) and after 1 year (n=20; SMD: -0.97 [-1.91, -0.03]) compared with exposure alone. Conclusions: Exposure-based psychological interventions and applied muscle tension show evidence of benefit in the reduction of fear in pediatric and adult populations