Multifocal cerebral venous thrombosis.

editorial reviewedCerebral venous thrombosis is a rare condition and represents a neurological emergency. It is a particular subtype of stroke, characterized by a huge diversity of neurological symptoms. Due to the diversity of its potential clinical presentations, medical imaging plays an important role in its early detection, even on non-dedicated examinations often performed in search of another acute neurological pathology. The aim of this case report is to illustrate the different radiological signs of cerebral venous thrombosis and to discuss the difficulties in diagnosing it by imaging at the acute stage.La thrombose veineuse cérébrale (TVC) est une pathologie rare et constitue une urgence neurologique. Il s’agit d’un sous-type d’accident vasculaire cérébral (AVC) particulier, aux manifestations symptomatiques neurologiques très variées. De par la diversité de ses potentielles présentations cliniques, l’imagerie médicale joue un rôle important dans sa détection précoce et ce, y compris sur des examens non dédiés, réalisés à la recherche d’une autre pathologie neurologique aiguë. L’objectif de ce cas clinique est d’illustrer les différents signes radiologiques de la TVC et d’insister sur les difficultés, au stade aigu, de poser son diagnostic par imagerie

Added Value of Dual-Energy CT in COVID-19 Pneumopathy.

Teaching point: The use of dual-energy instead of conventional single-energy computed tomography pulmonary angiogram can provide additional value concerning the diagnosis of COVID-19 and its complications, especially in the detection of small pulmonary embolism

How do I investigate... the vulnerability of a carotid artery plaque in 2024.

editorial reviewedCarotid artery atherosclerosis is one of the leading causes of stroke. Even though the association between the risk of stroke and the level of morphological stenosis of a carotid plaque has been known for a long time, growing evidence has since proven necessary to assess the composition of the plaque itself to identify vulnerability predictors. These vulnerable plaques, even more if non-stenosing, may be responsible for a significant - but hard to quantify - proportion of strokes so far classified cryptogenic. As a matter of fact, plaque composition may escape detection and characterisation with classical imaging. Several biomarkers associated with its vulnerability to destabilization and with the risk of stroke such as intraplaque hemorrhage and inflammation are now routinely assessable. After a few pathophysiological reminders and a critical reading of the historical literature concerning carotid artery atherosclerosis management, we will review in this article the imaging techniques that can be used in the routine work-up of a carotid atherosclerotic plaque, with a focus on vessel wall magnetic resonance imaging and contrast enhanced ultrasonography.L’athérosclérose carotidienne est une des causes les plus fréquentes d’accident ischémique cérébral (AIC). Si la dangerosité d’une plaque d’athérome est historiquement vue uniquement à travers le prisme de la sténose qu’elle engendre, l’évolution des connaissances nous pousse à considérer sa composition à la recherche de facteurs de vulnérabilité. Ces plaques à risque, a fortiori «non sténosantes», sont responsables d’une proportion difficilement quantifiable, mais probablement non négligeable d’AIC jusqu’ici considérés cryptogéniques. En effet, ces critères échappent pour beaucoup aux méthodes d’imagerie traditionnelle. Plusieurs propriétés associées à la vulnérabilité de la plaque et au risque d’AIC, principalement l’hémorragie intra-plaque et l’inflammation, sont désormais accessibles en pratique courante. Après quelques rappels physiopathologiques et une lecture critique de la littérature historique de la prise en charge de l’athérome carotidien, nous passerons en revue les différentes techniques d’imagerie utilisables en routine dans la mise au point de la plaque d’athérosclérose, avec un focus pratique sur l’imagerie pariétale vasculaire par résonance magnétique et, dans une moindre mesure, par échographie de contraste

Herd-level animal management factors associated with the occurrence of bovine neonatal pancytopenia in calves in a multicountry study

Since 2007, mortality associated with a previously unreported haemorrhagic disease has been observed in young calves in several European countries. The syndrome, which has been named ‘bovine neonatal pancytopenia’ (BNP), is characterised by thrombocytopenia, leukocytopenia and a panmyelophthisis. A herd-level case-control study was conducted in four BNP affected countries (Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands) to identify herd management risk factors for BNP occurrence. Data were collected using structured face-to-face and telephone interviews of farm managers and their local veterinarians. In total, 363 case farms and 887 control farms were included in a matched multivariable conditional logistic regression analysis. Case-control status was strongly associated with the odds of herd level use of the vaccine PregSure® BVD (PregSure, Pfizer Animal Health) (matched adjusted odds ratio (OR) 107.2; 95% CI: 41.0–280.1). This was also the case for the practices of feeding calves colostrum from the calf’s own dam (OR 2.0; 95% CI: 1.1–3.4) or feeding pooled colostrum (OR 4.1; 95% CI: 1.9–8.8). Given that the study had relatively high statistical power and represented a variety of cattle production and husbandry systems, it can be concluded with some confidence that no other herd level management factors are competent causes for a sufficient cause of BNP occurrence on herd level. It is suggested that genetic characteristics of the dams and BNP calves should be the focus of further investigations aimed at identifying the currently missing component causes that together with PregSure vaccination and colostrum feeding represent a sufficient cause for occurrence of BNP in calves

An externally validated fully automated deep learning algorithm to classify COVID-19 and other pneumonias on chest computed tomography.

peer reviewedPurpose: In this study, we propose an artificial intelligence (AI) framework based on three-dimensional convolutional neural networks to classify computed tomography (CT) scans of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), influenza/community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), and no infection, after automatic segmentation of the lungs and lung abnormalities. Methods: The AI classification model is based on inflated three-dimensional Inception architecture and was trained and validated on retrospective data of CT images of 667 adult patients (no infection n=188, COVID-19 n=230, influenza/CAP n=249) and 210 adult patients (no infection n=70, COVID-19 n=70, influenza/CAP n=70), respectively. The model's performance was independently evaluated on an internal test set of 273 adult patients (no infection n=55, COVID-19 n= 94, influenza/CAP n=124) and an external validation set from a different centre (305 adult patients: COVID-19 n=169, no infection n=76, influenza/CAP n=60). Results: The model showed excellent performance in the external validation set with area under the curve of 0.90, 0.92 and 0.92 for COVID-19, influenza/CAP and no infection, respectively. The selection of the input slices based on automatic segmentation of the abnormalities in the lung reduces analysis time (56 s per scan) and computational burden of the model. The Transparent Reporting of a Multivariable Prediction Model for Individual Prognosis or Diagnosis (TRIPOD) score of the proposed model is 47% (15 out of 32 TRIPOD items). Conclusion: This AI solution provides rapid and accurate diagnosis in patients suspected of COVID-19 infection and influenza

The Cysteine-Rich Interdomain Region from the Highly Variable Plasmodium falciparum Erythrocyte Membrane Protein-1 Exhibits a Conserved Structure

Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites, living in red blood cells, express proteins of the erythrocyte membrane protein-1 (PfEMP1) family on the red blood cell surface. The binding of PfEMP1 molecules to human cell surface receptors mediates the adherence of infected red blood cells to human tissues. The sequences of the 60 PfEMP1 genes in each parasite genome vary greatly from parasite to parasite, yet the variant PfEMP1 proteins maintain receptor binding. Almost all parasites isolated directly from patients bind the human CD36 receptor. Of the several kinds of highly polymorphic cysteine-rich interdomain region (CIDR) domains classified by sequence, only the CIDR1α domains bind CD36. Here we describe the CD36-binding portion of a CIDR1α domain, MC179, as a bundle of three α-helices that are connected by a loop and three additional helices. The MC179 structure, containing seven conserved cysteines and 10 conserved hydrophobic residues, predicts similar structures for the hundreds of CIDR sequences from the many genome sequences now known. Comparison of MC179 with the CIDR domains in the genome of the P. falciparum 3D7 strain provides insights into CIDR domain structure. The CIDR1α three-helix bundle exhibits less than 20% sequence identity with the three-helix bundles of Duffy-binding like (DBL) domains, but the two kinds of bundles are almost identical. Despite the enormous diversity of PfEMP1 sequences, the CIDR1α and DBL protein structures, taken together, predict that a PfEMP1 molecule is a polymer of three-helix bundles elaborated by a variety of connecting helices and loops. From the structures also comes the insight that DBL1α domains are approximately 100 residues larger and that CIDR1α domains are approximately 100 residues smaller than sequence alignments predict. This new understanding of PfEMP1 structure will allow the use of better-defined PfEMP1 domains for functional studies, for the design of candidate vaccines, and for understanding the molecular basis of cytoadherence

Co-living in Belgium: Identifying opportunities and formulating a go to market strategy for a belgian realestate developer

“First, we shape our buildings. Then our buildings shape us.” - Winston Churchill ION is a professional, Belgian based real estate developer that is specialized in developing mixed-use, complex projects throughout Belgium that serve both commercial and residential purposes. Being agile and innovative are key components to tap into the current market trends and to remain competitive in this fast-changing business. The company asked us to perform market research that investigates the topic of co-living. This type of living is already established in the US and is now quickly gaining relevance in Europe and Belgium. A co-living space can be seen as a building that houses facilities which are split into private and public spaces for individuals. This way of living stimulates interaction between guests and creates a sense of togetherness. Co-living spaces can be seen as modern housing in which residents with shared interests, intentions, aims and values live together (Mehl, 2019). A crucial distinction will be made between co-living and co-housing. The main reasons why people live in a co-living project can almost always be brought back to one of three reasons: cost, convenience or community. This research paper will provide more insights into the following statement: "Co-living in Belgium: identifying opportunities and formulating a go-to-market strategy for a Belgian real-estate developer" The recommendations given in this report should give ION a better understanding of the current and future co-living market in Belgium and neighboring countries. Therefore, the main objectives of this paper are: 1. Extensive profiling of the different stakeholders involved in co-living spaces 2. Identify current and future market trends toward co-living in Belgium and neighboring countries 3. Develop a feasible and sustainable co-living business model (in terms of qualitative as well as quantitative analysis) 4. Advise the company on a go-to-market strategy In order to deliver concrete recommendations concerning the objectives above, a combination of both qualitative and quantitative market research methods has been done. In qualitative research, interviews with co-living administrators and co-living residents were held. The main findings of the interviews with the co-living administrators indicated that there are five critical topics that are worth looking into: the reason for investing in a co-living project, the operating model, operating problems, drivers why people stay in a co-living project and the future of the co-living landscape. Furthermore, the different relations between the stakeholders that are involved in a coliving project were exposed. As a result, an extensive competitive analysis of the Belgian and European co-living landscape was given in the ‘Results’-section. Interviews with co-living residents confirmed what was found in the literature and the interviews with administrators: residents look for an excellent price-quality ratio, the community aspect and convenience in terms of flexibility and services. Vlerick Business School: In-Company Project ION The goal of our quantitative research was to build clear target personas from the people that are likely to live in a co-living space. Additionally, determining what people expect from a co-living space was needed. Based on our survey results, one specific segment called ‘Co-living target group’ has been defined. The age of this target group is relatively broad, especially people between 18 and 44 would be willing to live in a co-living project. Their willingness-to-pay for extra services such as cleaning is higher than average. Additional factors we see is that more women are present in this segment. However, it should be mentioned that the target audience will mainly depend on the size of the coliving space, the design and the vision of the operating company. As a recommendation, a go-to-market strategy has been defined by making use of the Business Model Canvas. The model gives a visual representation of a company’s value proposition, infrastructure, customers and finances

A Rare Case of Extrinsic Stenosis of Dural Sinus.

peer reviewedTeaching Point: Dural sinus stenosis are a rare cause of increased intracranial pressure and can be treated in some cases by stenting