A 3D solution for a web-based building information system

This paper presents an information system for the documentation of research results in building archaeology as applied to the example of “Domus Severiana” palace on the Palatine Hill in Rome. In connection with the development of CISAR – a modular open-source web-based information system for archaeological field work and building archaeology – a special solution with the focus on 3D building documentation was created. There are many commercial and non-commercial software products for 2D web-based information systems, whereas few solutions for 3D GIS are available. Therefore, an independent product was developed based mainly on open source components. The use of open source technology allows for the optimal adaptation to user requirements and a standardised data exchange. The information system is an effective working tool that facilitates the documentation of building characteristics and related data analysis; users do not need to have special knowledge of computer science or graphics

Safety and efficacy of rasagiline as an add-on therapy to riluzole in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a randomised, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial

Background Rasagiline, a monoamine oxidase B inhibitor with neuroprotective potential in Parkinson's disease, has shown a disease-modifying effect in the SOD1-Gly93Ala low-expressing mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, both alone and in combination with riluzole. We sought to test whether or not rasagiline 1 mg/day can prolong survival in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis also receiving riluzole. Methods Patients with possible, probable, or definite amyotrophic lateral sclerosis were enrolled to our randomised, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, double-blind, phase 2 trial from 15 German network for motor neuron diseases (MND-NET) centres (university hospitals or clinics). Eligible patients were aged at least 18 years, had onset of progressive weakness within the 36 months before the study, had disease duration of more than 6 months and less than 3 years, and had a best-sitting slow vital capacity of at least 50%. After a 4-week screening period, eligible patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either rasagiline (1 mg/day) or placebo in addition to riluzole (100 mg/day), after stratification for site of onset (bulbar or spinal) and study centre. Patients and all personnel assessing outcome parameters were masked to treatment allocation. Patients were followed up 2, 6, 12, and 18 months after randomisation. The primary endpoint was survival time, defined as the time to death or time to study cutoff date (ie, the last patient's last visit plus 14 days). Analyses of primary outcome and safety measures were done in all patients who received at least one dose of trial treatment (intention-to-treat population). The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01879241. Findings Between July 2, 2013, and Nov 11, 2014, 273 patients were screened for eligibility, and 252 patients were randomly assigned to receive rasagiline (n=127) or placebo (n=125). 126 patients taking rasagiline and 125 taking placebo were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. For the primary outcome, the survival probability at the end of the study was 0.43 (95% CI 0.25-0.59) in the rasagiline group (n=126) and 0.53 (0.43-0.62) in the placebo group (n=125). The estimated effect size (hazard ratio) was 0.91 (one-sided 97.5% CI -infinity to 1.34; p=0.31). Rasagiline was well tolerated, and most adverse events were due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis disease progression rather than treatment; the most frequent of these were dysphagia (32 [25%] taking rasagiline vs 24 [19%] taking placebo) and respiratory failure (25 [20%] vs 31 [25%]). Frequency of adverse events were comparable between both groups. Interpretation Rasagiline was safe in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. There was no difference between groups in the primary outcome of survival, although post-hoc analysis suggested that rasagiline might modify disease progression in patients with an initial slope of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale Revised greater than 0.5 points per month at baseline. This should be confirmed in another clinical trial. Copyright (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved