Arterial spin labeling MRI - clinical applications

Arterial spin labeling (ASL) is a modern magnetic-resonance technique for evaluation of brain perfusion. One of its most important advantages is that there is no need for an injection of an exogenous contrast material. ASL generates an image by magnetically `labeling` water molecules in arterial vessels. Thus, ASL is an alternative to the invasive techniques requiring intravenous contrast medium, and in some cases, it even proves to be a better choice. There is a wide clinical application for ASL, ranging from stroke, brain neoplasms and vascular malformations, to neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders

MRI features of cerebral small vessel disease

Cerebral small vessel disease affects brain vessels with the smallest caliber - small arteries, arterioles, venules, capillaries. There is strong association with cognitive impairment, dementia, psychiatric conditions, gait disturbances. The main markers of cerebral small vessel disease in neuroimaging are white matter hyperintensities, lacunes, microbleeds, enlarged perivascular spaces - all of which long considered to be of a separate etiology and pathogenesis. Today we have enough reason to believe that they are part of the same pathological process, in which the main role is played by the endothelium. Advances in neuroimaging allow us to give more attention to cerebral small vessel disease - an extremely important scientific and social problem.Cerebral small vessel disease affects brain vessels with the smallest caliber - small arteries, arterioles, venules, capillaries. There is strong association with cognitive impairment, dementia, psychiatric conditions, gait disturbances. The main markers of cerebral small vessel disease in neuroimaging are white matter hyperintensities, lacunes, microbleeds, enlarged perivascular spaces - all of which long considered to be of a separate etiology and pathogenesis. Today we have enough reason to believe that they are part of the same pathological process, in which the main role is played by the endothelium. Advances in neuroimaging allow us to give more attention to cerebral small vessel disease - an extremely important scientific and social problem

Magnetic resonance diffusion and perfusion for differentiation of low grade from high grade glioma

Глиомите са най-честите първични мозъчни тумори с годишна заболеваемост от 5-10 случая на 100 000 в западните популации. Те са водещата причина за смърт сред децата и възрастните, диагностицирани с мозъчна неоплазма. Глиомите се оценяват по класификацията на СЗО чрез хистопатологични степени от I до IV. Степени I и II се считат за нискостепенни, докато III, IV са високостепенни. Въпреки че са хистологично доброкачествени, повечето от туморите II ст. ще се трансформират в злокачествените III и IV степени в интервала от 5-10 години от поставяне на диагнозата. Тези степени са важни, тъй като определят терапевтичния подход и прогнозата при пациентите с глиоми. Високостепенните глиоми се подлагат на хирургия и/или лъчетерапия, и/или химиотерапия, имат по-лоша прогноза. Нискостепенните глиоми имат понякога консервативно лечение. Конвенционалните МР образи осигуряват важна информация относно наличието на контрастноусилване, едем, далечни туморни фокуси, кръво-излив, некроза, масс ефект и т.н., които са полезни при характеризирането на туморната агресивност и оттам туморната степен. Съвременните физиологични МР техники като МР дифузия и перфузия дават информация за туморната физиология като микроваскуларитет, ангиогенеза, и целуларитет, всяка от които е също важна при определяне на туморната степен. Дифузионната МР техника оценява структурата на тумора целуларитет, водно съдържимо. Перфузионната МР техника е маркер за капилярната плътност и неоваскуларизация.Gliomas are the most common primary brain tumors with an annual incidence of 5-10 cases per 100,000 in Western populations. They are the leading cause of death among children and adults diagnosed with brain neoplasm. Gliomas are valued at the WHO classification by histopathological grades I to IV. Grades I and II are considered low-grade, while III, IV grades are high grade. Although they are histologically benign tumors most of II grade will transform into malignant grades III and IV in the range of 5-10 years of diagnosis. These grades are important because, they define therapeutic approach and prognosis in patients with gliomas. High grade gliomas were subjected to surgery and / or radiotherapy and / or chemotherapy, have a poor prognosis. Low-grade gliomas have sometimes conservative treatment. Conventional MR images provide important information on the presence of contrast enhancement, oedema, distant tumor foci, hemorrhage, necrosis, mass effect, etc., which are useful in the characterization of tumor aggressiveness and hence tumor grade. Modern techniques such as physiological techniques- MR diffusion and perfusion provide information about tumor physiology as microvascularity, angiogenesis, and cellularity, all of which are also important in determining the tumor grade. MR diffusion technique evaluates the structure of the tumor-cellularity, water content. MR perfusion technique is a marker for capillary density and neovascularisation

The RAGE Game Software Components Repository for Supporting Applied Game Development

This paper presents the architecture of the RAGE repository, which is a unique and dedicated infrastructure that provides access to a wide variety of advanced technology components for applied game development. The RAGE project, which is the principal Horizon2020 research and innovation project on applied gaming, develops up to three dozens of software components (RAGE software assets) that are reusable across a wide diversity of game engines, game platforms and programming languages. The RAGE repository provides storage space for assets and their artefacts and is designed as an asset life-cycle management system for defining, publishing, updating, searching and packaging for distribution of these assets. It will be embedded in a social platform for asset developers and other users. A dedicated Asset Repository Manager provides the main functionality of the repository and its integration with other systems. Tools supporting the Asset Manager are presented and discussed. When the RAGE repository is in full operation, applied game developers will be able to easily enhance the quality of their games by including selected advanced game software assets. Making available the RAGE repository system and its variety of software assets aims to enhance the coherence and decisiveness of the applied game industry

The RAGE Advanced Game Technologies Repository for Supporting Applied Game Development

This paper describes the structural architecture of the RAGE repository, which is a unique and dedicated infrastructure that provides access to a wide variety of advanced technologies (RAGE software assets) for applied game development. These software assets are reusable across a wide diversity of game engines, game platforms and programming languages. The RAGE repository allows applied game developers and studios to search for software assets for inclusion in applied games. The repository is designed as an asset life-cycle management system for defining, publishing, updating, searching and packaging for distribution of these assets. The RAGE repository provides storage space for assets and their artefacts. It will be embedded in a social platform for networking among asset developers and other users. A dedicated Asset Repository Manager provides the main functionality of the repository and its integration with other systems. Tools supporting the Asset Manager are presented and discussed. When the RAGE repository is in full operation, applied game developers will be able to easily enhance the quality of their games by including advanced game technology assets

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

Short-lived mammals (shrew, mouse) have a less robust metal-responsive transcription factor than humans and bats

Non-essential “heavy” metals such as cadmium tend to accumulate in an organism and thus are a particular threat for long-lived animals. Here we show that two unrelated, short-lived groups of mammals (rodents and shrews, separated by 100 Mio years of evolution) each have independently acquired mutations in their metal-responsive transcription factor (MTF-1) in a domain relevant for robust transcriptional induction by zinc and cadmium. While key amino acids are mutated in rodents, in shrews an entire exon is skipped. Rodents and especially shrews are unique regarding the alterations of this region. To investigate the biological relevance of these alterations, MTF-1s from the common shrew (Sorex araneus), the mouse, humans and a bat (Myotis blythii), were tested by cotransfection with a reporter gene into cells lacking MTF-1. Whereas shrews only live for 1.5–2.5 years, bats, although living on a very similar insect diet, have a lifespan of several decades. We find that bat MTF-1 is similarly metal-responsive as its human counterpart, while shrew MTF-1 is less responsive, similar to mouse MTF-1. We propose that in comparison to most other mammals, the short-lived shrews and rodents can afford a “lower-quality” system for heavy metal homeostasis and detoxification

Reputational Crisis Management: Co-authors monograph

International audienceКолективната монография „Управление на репутационни кризи” обобщава научните резултати от изследванията в докторската програма по медии и комуникации на Софийския университет в дисциплините „Кризисен мениджмънт – управление на репутационни кризи” и „Кризисен пъблик рилейшънс”, ръководени от проф. д-р Чавдар Христов. Включва следните аспекти: Организационна репутация; Глобализация на репутационните кризи; Алгоритъм за измерване на репутационни кризи; Методологична рамка на изследването на казуси (case studies); Управление на репутация, рискове и кризи; Управление на репутацията чрез жизнения цикъл на риска; Слуховете – външна заплаха за репутационна криза; Троловете и хакерите – външни заплахи за репутационна криза; Компютърните вируси и организационната репутация; Политическата карикатура и глобалните репутационни кризи; Репутационни аспекти на терористичните кризи; Репутационните кризи в туризма – „Брекзит” и гръцката финансова криза; Репутационна криза на държавните институции в България – бежанската криза; Репутационна криза на политическата власт в България – протестите #ДАНСwithme.Table of Contents PREFACE 1. ORGANIZATIONAL REPUTATION: COMMUNICATION AND MANAGEMENT ASPECTS. GLOBALIZATION OF REPUTATIONAL CRISES. Chavdar Hristov 1.1. Defining Organizational Reputation 1.2. Reputation from the Perspective of Mass Perceptions and Behavior 1.3. Reputation in Relation to the Corporate Image and Brand 1.4. Reputation as Added Value 1.5. Reputation as Unity between Presentation, Behavior and Communication 1.6. Managerial Aspects of Organizational Reputation 1.7. Globalization and Reputational Crises: Digitalization and Information Leaks 2. REAL, MEDIA‐REPORTED AND REPUTATIONAL CRISES. CRISIS MEASUREMENT. Chavdar Hristov 2.1. Real, Media‐Reported and Reputational Crises 2.2. Algorithm for Measurement and Analysis of Reputational Crises 2.3. Measuring and Investigating Crisis Situations 2.4. Conclusions and Implications 3. METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK. Chavdar Hristov and Kalin Kalinov 3.1. Why case studies? 3.2. Research Design 3.3. Research Protocol 3.4. Validity Indicators 4. MANAGING REPUTATION, RISKS AND CRISES. THE FOUR CATEGORIES OF REPUTATIONAL RISKS AND GUIDELINES FOR THEIR MANAGEMENT. Petar Kardzhilov 4.1. The Term “Reputation” 4.2. Four Aspects of the Reputation Strategy 4.3. Contemporary Challenges in Reputation Management 4.4. Problem Management and Crisis Management 4.5. Four Categories of Reputational Risks 4.6. Guidelines for Managing Different Categoriesof Reputational Risks 4.7. Interconnected Risks 4.8. The Nuclear Disaster in Fukushima 4.9. Conclusion 5. MANAGING REPUTATION THROUGH THE LIFE CYCLE OF RISK. PREDICTING, PREVENTING AND RESOLVING REPUTATIONAL RISK. Petar Kardzhilov 5.1. Life Cycle of the Reputational Risk 5.2. Predicting Reputational Risks 5.2.1. External Radar for Reputational Risks and Horizon Scanning 5.2.2. Internal Radar for Reputational Risks 5.2.3. Risk Analysis 5.2.4. Evaluating Reputational Risk 5.3. Preventing Reputational Risks 5.3.1. Architecture of Reputational Risk Management – “Hard” Intervention for Reputational Risks Prevention 5.3.2. Reputational Behavior, Leadership and Training – “Soft” Intervention for Reputational Risk Prevention 5.3.3. Organizational Social Responsibility (Corporate Citizenship) 5.4. Solving Reputational Risks 5.5. Conclusion 6. RUMOURS AS AN EXTERNAL THREAT, LEADING TO REPUTATIONAL CRISES. Plamen Atanasov 6.1. Defining Rumor 6.2. Are Fake News a Rumor 6.3. Rumor from the Reputation Building Perspective 6.4. Rumor and Reputational Crises 6.5. Rumor and Intangible Assets 6.6. Rumors in the Cyberspace Extended Communication 6.7. Conclusion 7. TROLLS AND HACKERS‐ EXTERNAL THREATS LEADING TO REPUTATIONAL CRISES. Plamen Atanasov 7.1. Defining Hackers and Trolls or Why the Rumor, Hackers and Trolls are Major Threats for the Reputation in the Modern World 7.2. Correlating Hackers’ and Trolls’ Actions with Reputational Crises 7.3. Conclusion 8. COMPUTER VIRUSES AND WHY THE ORGANISATION REPUTATION SUFFERS. Plamen Atanasov 8.1. Defining Computer Viruses 8.2. Viruses from the Reputation Management Perspective 8.3. Protecting the Organizational Reputation from Virus Damage 8.4. Conclusion 9. THE IMPACT OF THE POLITICAL CARTOON ON GLOBAL REPUTATION CRISIS. Boyan Georgiev 9.1. Theoretical Framework and Methodology 9.2. Presenting the Cases of the Danish Newspaper “Jyllands‐Posten” and the French Weekly “Charlie Hebdo” 9.3. Key Variables Impacting the Development of the Crisis 9.4. Newspaper Characteristics 9.5. Characteristics of the Cartoons in the Cases 9.6. Reputation 9.6.1. National Reputation Before the Crisis 9.6.2. Abrupt Changes in the Organization’s Image 9.7. Crisis Communication 9.7.1. Communication Strategy for Managing the Reputational Crisis 9.7.2. Goals and Analysis of the Undertaken Crisis Communication 9.7.3. Evaluating the Reaction in Terms of National Image Restoration 9.7.4. Post‐Crisis Solutions 9.8. Reputational Ingredients: Presentation, Behavior, Communication 9.9. Implications 9.10. Conclusion 10. REPUTATIONAL ASPECTS OF TERRORIST CRISES. Kalin Kalinov 10.1. Recent Data on Terrorist Attacks Worldwide 10.2. Methodology of the Research of the Cases: Manchester 2017 and Charlie Hebdo 2015 10.3. Crisis Analysis: Manchester 2017 10.4. Crisis Analysis: Charlie Hebdo 2015 10.5. Conclusion 11. REPUTATIONAL CRISES IN TOURISM: SPECIFICS AND FEATURES. Hristina Slavova and Kalin Kalinov 11.1. Stability, Crises and Reputation in Tourism 11.2. Basics of Tourism Crisis Communication 11.3. Methodology and Definition of Reputational Crises in Tourism 11.4. Crisis Analysis: Brexit 11.5. Crisis Analysis: The Greek Debt Crisis 11.6. Comparative Analysis of the Crises in the British and Greek Tourism 11.7. Conclusion 12. REPUTATION CRISIS OF STATE INSTITUTIONS IN THE SECURITY SECTOR IN BULGARIA – THE REFUGEE CRISIS AS A TRIGGERING EVENT. Boyan Georgiev 12.1. The European Refugee Crisis (2011‐2015) as Research Object 12.2. Importance of Refugee Crises 12.2.1. Importance of the Crises for Bulgaria (2013–2015) 12.2.2. Reputational Importance of the Crises 12.2.3. Importance of the Crises for Government Communication in the Field of Security 12.3. Reputational Crises Triggered by the Refugees Issue 12.4. Research Methodology 12.5. Measuring the Crises in Phase A (July – December 2013) and Phase B (March 2014 – March 2015) 12.6. Comparative Analysis of the Two Cases 12.7. Key Variables in Both Cases 12.8. Crisis Communication in Both Cases 12.9. Evaluation of the Organization’s Response 12.10. Communication Strategy for Managing Reputational Crisis 12.11. Reputation Building Prior to the Crisis 12.12. Sudden Changes in the Image of Bulgaria 12.13. Factors Impacting the Reputation of the Researched State 12.14. Reputational Ingredients. Presentation, Behavior, Communication 12.15. Implications from the Research Goals 12.16. Conclusion 13. THE #DANSWITHME PROTESTS AS THE BEGINNING OF THE INSTITUTIONAL REPUTATION CRISIS IN BULGARIA. MODEL OF MEDIA IMPACT IN CRISES. Ina Bacheva 13.1. Introduction 13.2. Methodology and Concepts 13.3. Case Study: Mass Protests of 2013 – “Let’s Set the Monopolies on Fire” and “DANSwithme” 13.4. Protests #DANSwithme in 2013 and the Political Crisis in Bulgaria 13.5. The New Communication Environment and the Place of the Media. Influence Model 13.6. Classification of the Influence of Journalistic Tactics in Crisis Reporting 13.7. Model of Media Influence 13.8. Measuring the Crisis with the Appointment of Delyan Peevski as an Argument for Media Influence 13.9. Implications 13.10. Conclusion CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY SUMMAR