Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acquired long QT syndrome and torsade de pointes

Since its initial description by Jervell and Lange‐Nielsen in 1957, the congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS) has been the most investigated cardiac ion channelopathy. Although congenital LQTS continues to remain the domain of cardiologists, cardiac electrophysiologists, and specialized centers, the by far more frequent acquired drug‐induced LQTS is the domain of all physicians and other members of the health care team who are required to make therapeutic decisions. This report will review the electrophysiological mechanisms of LQTS and torsade de pointes, electrocardiographic characteristics of acquired LQTS, its clinical presentation, management, and future directions in the field.
The glutamine synthetase of Trypanosoma cruzi is required for its resistance to ammonium accumulation and evasion of the parasitophorous vacuole during host-cell infection

Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease, consumes glucose and amino acids depending on the environmental availability of each nutrient during its complex life cycle. For example, amino acids are the major energy and carbon sources in the intracellular stages of the T. cruzi parasite, but their consumption produces an accumulation of NH4+ in the environment, which is toxic. These parasites do not have a functional urea cycle to secrete excess nitrogen as low-toxicity waste. Glutamine synthetase (GS) plays a central role in regulating the carbon/nitrogen balance in the metabolism of most living organisms. We show here that the gene TcGS from T. cruzi encodes a functional glutamine synthetase; it can complement a defect in the GLN1 gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and utilizes ATP, glutamate and ammonium to yield glutamine in vitro. Overall, its kinetic characteristics are similar to other eukaryotic enzymes, and it is dependent on divalent cations. Its cytosolic/mitochondrial localization was confirmed by immunofluorescence. Inhibition by Methionine sulfoximine revealed that GS activity is indispensable under excess ammonium conditions. Coincidently, its expression levels are maximal in the amastigote stage of the life cycle, when amino acids are preferably consumed, and NH4+ production is predictable. During host-cell invasion, TcGS is required for the parasite to escape from the parasitophorous vacuole, a process sine qua non for the parasite to replicate and establish infection in host cells. These results are the first to establish a link between the activity of a metabolic enzyme and the ability of a parasite to reach its intracellular niche to replicate and establish host-cell infection.
Multi-Wavelength Intra-Day Variability and Quasi-Periodic Oscillation in Blazars

We reviewed multi-wavelength blazars variability and detection of quasi-periodic oscillations on intra-day timescales. The variability timescale from a few minutes to up to less than a days is commonly known as intra-day variability. These fast variations are extremely useful to constrain the size of the emitting region, black hole mass estimation, etc. It is noticed that in general, blazars show intra-day variability in the complete electromagnetic spectrum. However, some classes of blazars either do not show or show very little intra-day variability in a specific band of the electromagnetic spectrum. Blazars show rarely quasi-periodic oscillations in time series data in optical and X-ray bands. Other properties and emission mechanisms of blazars are also briefly discussed.
Hydrogen Sulfide: A Novel Player in Airway Development, Pathophysiology of Respiratory Diseases, and Antiviral Defenses

Abstract Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a biologically relevant signaling molecule in mammals. Along with the volatile substances nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO), H2S is defined as a gasotransmitter. It plays a physiological role in a variety of functions, including synaptic transmission, vascular tone, angiogenesis, inflammation, and cellular signaling. The generation of H2S is catalyzed by cystathionine &bgr;‐synthase (CBS), cystathionine &ggr;‐lyase (CSE), and 3‐mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (3‐MST). The expression of CBS and CSE is tissue specific, with CBS being expressed predominantly in the brain, and CSE in peripheral tissues, including lungs. CSE expression and activity are developmentally regulated, and recent studies suggest that CSE plays an important role in lung alveolarization during fetal development. In the respiratory tract, endogenous H2S has been shown to participate in the regulation of important functions such as airway tone, pulmonary circulation, cell proliferation or apoptosis, fibrosis, oxidative stress, and inflammation. In the past few years, changes in the generation of H2S have been linked to the pathogenesis of a variety of acute and chronic inflammatory lung diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Recently, our laboratory made the critical discovery that cellular H2S exerts broad‐spectrum antiviral activity both in vitro and in vivo, in addition to independent antiinflammatory activity. These findings have important implications for the development of novel therapeutic strategies for viral respiratory infections, as well as other inflammatory lung diseases, especially in light of recent significant efforts to generate controlled‐release H2S donors for clinical therapeutic applications.
Organic farming increases richness of fungal taxa in the wheat phyllosphere

Organic farming is often advocated as an approach to mitigate biodiversity loss on agricultural land. The phyllosphere provides a habitat for diverse fungal communities that are important for plant health and productivity. However, it is still unknown how organic farming affects the diversity of phyllosphere fungi in major crops. We sampled wheat leaves from 22 organically and conventionally cultivated fields in Sweden, paired based on their geographical location and wheat cultivar. Fungal communities were described using amplicon sequencing and real‐time PCR. Species richness was higher on wheat leaves from organically managed fields, with a mean of 54 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) compared with 40 OTUs for conventionally managed fields. The main components of the fungal community were similar throughout the 350‐km‐long sampling area, and seven OTUs were present in all fields: Zymoseptoria, Dioszegia fristingensis, Cladosporium, Dioszegia hungarica, Cryptococcus, Ascochyta and Dioszegia. Fungal abundance was highly variable between fields, 103–105 internal transcribed spacer copies per ng wheat DNA, but did not differ between cropping systems. Further analyses showed that weed biomass was the strongest explanatory variable for fungal community composition and OTU richness. These findings help provide a more comprehensive understanding of the effect of organic farming on the diversity of organism groups in different habitats within the agroecosystem.
Quantification of heart, pericardium, and left ventricular myocardium movements during the cardiac cycle for thoracic tumor radiotherapy

Purpose The purpose of this study was to quantify variations in the heart, pericardium, and left ventricular myocardium (LVM) caused by cardiac movement using the breath-hold technique. Patients and methods In this study, the electrocardiography-gated four-dimensional computed tomography (CT) images of 22 patients were analyzed, which were sorted into 20 phases (0–95%) according to the cardiac cycle. The heart, pericardium, and LVM were contoured on each phase of the CT images. The positions, volume, dice similarity coefficient (DSC) in reference to 0% phase, and morphological parameters (max 3D diameter, roundness, spherical disproportion, sphericity, and surface area) in different phases of the heart, pericardium, and LVM were analyzed, which were presented as mean ± standard deviation. Results The mean values of displacements along the X, Y, and Z axes respectively were as follows: 1.2 mm, 0.6 mm, and 0.6 mm for the heart; 0.5 mm, 0.4 mm, and 0.8 mm for the pericardium; and 1.0 mm, 4.1 mm, and 1.9 mm for the LVM. The maximum variations in volume and DSC respectively were 16.49%±3.85% and 10.08%±2.14% for the heart, 12.62%±3.94% and 5.20%±1.54% for the pericardium, and 24.23%±11.35% and 184.33%±128.61% for the LVM. The differences in the morphological parameters between the maximum and minimum DSC phases for the heart and pericardium were not significantly different (p>0.05) but were significantly different for the LVM (p<0.05). Conclusion The volumetric and morphological variations of the heart were similar to those of pericardium, and all were significantly smaller than those of the LVM. This inconsistency in the volumetric and morphological variations between the LVM and the heart and pericardium indicates that special protection of the LVM should be considered.
Sulphur-containing Amino Acids: Protective Role Against Free Radicals and Heavy Metals.

BACKGROUND Sulphur is an abundant element in biological systems, which plays an important role in processes essential for life as a constituent of proteins, vitamins and other crucial biomolecules. The major source of sulphur for humans is plants being able to use inorganic sulphur in the purpose of sulphur-containing amino acids synthesis. Sulphur-containing amino acids include methionine, cysteine, homocysteine, and taurine. Methionine and cysteine are classified as proteinogenic, canonic amino acids incorporated in protein structure. Sulphur amino acids are involved in the synthesis of intracellular antioxidants such as glutathione and N-acetyl cysteine. Moreover, naturally occurring sulphur-containing ligands are effective and safe detoxifying agents, often used in order to prevent toxic metal ions effects and their accumulation in human body. METHODS Literature search for peer-reviewed articles was performed using PubMed and Scopus databases, and utilizing appropriate keywords. RESULTS This review is focused on sulphur-containing amino acids - methionine, cysteine, taurine, and their derivatives - glutathione and N-acetylcysteine, and their defense effects as antioxidant agents against free radicals. Additionally, the protective effects of sulphur-containing ligands against the toxic effects of heavy and transition metal ions, and their reactivation role towards the enzyme inhibition are described. CONCLUSION Sulphur-containing amino acids represent a powerful part of cell antioxidant system. Thus, they are essential in the maintenance of normal cellular functions and health. In addition to their worthy antioxidant action, sulphur-containing amino acids may offer a chelating site for heavy metals. Accordingly, they may be supplemented during chelating therapy, providing beneficial effects in eliminating toxic metals.
A density functional theory for colloids with two multiple bonding associating sites

Wertheim’s multi-density formalism is extended for patchy colloidal fluids with two multiple bonding patches. The theory is developed as a density functional theory to predict the properties of an associating inhomogeneous fluid. The equation of state developed for this fluid depends on the size of the patch, and includes formation of cyclic, branched and linear clusters of associated species. The theory predicts the density profile and the fractions of colloids in different bonding states versus the distance from one wall as a function of bulk density and temperature. The predictions from our theory are compared with previous results for a confined fluid with four single bonding association sites. Also, comparison between the present theory and Monte Carlo simulation indicates a good agreement.
Real-time monitoring of nanoscale TiO2 concentration by spectrophotometry: implications of agglomeration due to natural organic matter and multivalent ions

ABSTRACT The study of the environmental fate of nanoscale TiO2 (n-TiO2) is a major recent research focus which requires a rapid and accurate on-site concentration determination method. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) has been the most widely used method for determining the concentration of n-TiO2 in environmental samples; however, poses many challenges, such as hazardous hydrofluoric acid pre-treatment and clear limitations in mobile on-site measurement and monitoring. This study demonstrates that industrial wastewater containing natural organic matter (NOM) can present a major challenge to the analysis of n-TiO2 by ICP-MS, and introduces a spectrophotometry technique that can be used as an alternative. The results suggest that spectrophotometry methods can be more accurate than slurry nebulization ICP-MS for measuring the concentrations of n-TiO2 in wastewater containing NOM under low salt conditions. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the use of a portable flow-through spectrophotometer for use in applications of wastewater treatment and environmental monitoring with real-time feedback of n-TiO2 concentrations. The ability to detect and monitor n-TiO2 will greatly assist in improving the understanding of hazards and risks that emerging nanomaterials pose to the environment and the public health. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Lymphocyte Subsets in Cord Blood of Preterm Infants: Effect of Antenatal Steroids

The objective of this study was to evaluate prospectively the influence of gestational age (GA) and short-term antenatal steroids on total lymphocyte count and lymphocyte subsets in cord blood from preterm infants. Two-color flow cytometric analyses of lymphocyte subsets were performed on cord blood collected from 67 infants. These infants were grouped according to GA: group I (term, n = 19); group II (GA 33–37 weeks, n = 25); group III (GA <33 weeks, n = 23). The mean absolute lymphocyte counts (ALC) in groups I, II and III were 5.6 ± 2.5 × 103/µl, 4.3 ± 1.5 × 103/µl and 3.5 ± 1.8 × 103/µl respectively. The mean values for CD4+ lymphocytes in groups I, II and III were 2.7 ± 0.8 × 103/µl, 2.0 ± 0.8 × 103/µl and 1.6 ± 0.9 × 103/µl respectively. Mean values for CD8+ lymphocytes were 0.9 ± 0.3 × 103/µl, 0.6 ± 0.3 × 103/µl and 0.5 ± 0.3 × 103/µl respectively. With decreasing GA, there was a statistically significant decrease in ALC (p = 0.0035), CD4+ lymphocytes (p = 0.0013) and CD8+ lymphocytes (p = 0.0064). We then evaluated the effect of antenatal steroids, now routinely administered to women with preterm onset of labor to facilitate fetal lung maturation, and found that after adjusting for GA, infants of women on antenatal steroids had significantly fewer ALC (p = 0.0001), CD4+ lymphocytes (p = 0.02) and CD25+ lymphocytes (p = 0.03). In this population of infants, the decreased number of lymphocytes seen at younger GAs is associated with antenatal steroid use.
An SDN-Based Fingerprint Hopping Method to Prevent Fingerprinting Attacks

Fingerprinting attacks are one of the most severe threats to the security of networks. Fingerprinting attack aims to obtain the operating system information of target hosts to make preparations for future attacks. In this paper, a fingerprint hopping method (FPH) is proposed based on software-defined networks to defend against fingerprinting attacks. FPH introduces the idea of moving target defense to show a hopping fingerprint toward the fingerprinting attackers. The interaction of the fingerprinting attack and its defense is modeled as a signal game, and the equilibriums of the game are analyzed to develop an optimal defense strategy. Experiments show that FPH can resist fingerprinting attacks effectively.
The Vulnerability of People to Damaging Hydrogeological Events in the Calabria Region (Southern Italy)

Background: Damaging Hydrogeological Events (DHEs) are severe weather periods during which floods, landslides, lightning, windstorms, hail or storm surges can harm people. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency/intensity of DHEs and, consequently, the potential harm to people. Method: We investigated the impacts of DHEs on people in Calabria (Italy) over 37 years (1980–2016). Data on 7288 people physically affected by DHEs were gathered from the systematic analysis of regional newspapers and collected in the database named PEOPLE. The damage was codified in three severity levels as follows: fatalities (people who were killed), injured (people who suffered physical harm) and involved (people who were present at the place where an accident occurred but survived and were not harmed). During the study period, we recorded 68 fatalities, 566 injured and 6654 people involved in the events. Results: Males were more frequently killed, injured and involved than females, and females who suffered fatalities were older than males who suffered fatalities, perhaps indicating that younger females tended to be more cautious than same-aged males, while older females showed an intrinsic greater vulnerability. Involved people were younger than injured people and fatalities, suggesting that younger people show greater promptness in reacting to dangerous situations. Floods caused the majority of the fatalities, injured and involved people, followed by landslides. Lightning was the most dangerous phenomenon, and it affected a relatively low number of people, killing 11.63% of them and causing injuries to 37.2%. Fatalities and injuries mainly occurred outdoors, largely along roads. In contrast, people indoors, essentially in public or private buildings, were more frequently involved without suffering harm. Being “dragged by water/mud” and “surrounded by water/mud”, respectively, represented the two extremes of dynamic dangerousness. The dragging effect of rapid-flowing water totally or partially obstructed the attempts of people to save their lives. In contrast, people surrounded by steady water/mud encountered difficulties but ultimately could survive. Conclusions: The study outcomes can be used in informational campaigns to increase risk awareness among both administrators and citizens and to improve community resilience, particularly in promoting self-protective behaviors and avoiding the underestimation of hazardous situations.
Does Total Rewards Reduce the Core Employees' Turnover Intention?

The turnover of core employees is great lost for industrial companies, so that the research of turnover Intention(TI) is critical to enterprise. Recently, the researches discuss the factors that affect turnover invention fromdifferent views. Based on the concept of total rewards (TR) we go deep into the influencing factors. In this paper,we used ULR and hierarchical regression analysis to build model with organizational justice (OJ) as moderatorvariable. Results showed that the five elements of total rewards, salary, rewards, work-life, performance &recognition and development & career are negative to employees’ turnover intention. Secondly, distribute justiceand interactional justice significantly negative moderate the relationship of TR and TI. However, process justiceonly has significantly negative moderating effect on work-life balance and development & career to TI, whilethe negative effect of salary, welfare and performance are not significant.
Méthodes formelles pour l'extraction d'attaques internes des Systèmes d'Information. (Formal methods for extracting insider attacks from Information Systems)

La securite des Systemes d’Information (SI) constitue un defi majeur car elle conditionne amplement la future exploitation d’un SI. C’est pourquoi l’etude des vulnerabilites d’un SI des les phases conceptuelles est cruciale. Il s’agit d’etudier la validation de politiques de securite, souvent exprimees par des regles de controle d’acces, et d’effectuer des verifications automatisees sur des modeles afin de garantir une certaine confiance dans le SI avant son operationnalisation. Notre interet porte plus particulierement sur la detection des vulnerabilites pouvant etre exploitees par des utilisateurs internes afin de commettre des attaques, appelees attaques internes, en profitant de leur acces legitime au systeme. Pour ce faire, nous exploitons des specifications formelles B generees, par la plateforme B4MSecure, a partir de modeles fonctionnels UML et d’une description Secure UML des regles de controle d’acces basees sur les roles. Ces vulnerabilites etant dues a l’evolution dynamique de l’etat fonctionnel du systeme, nous proposons d’etudier l’atteignabilite des etats, dits indesirables, donnant lieu a des attaques potentielles, a partir d’un etat normal du systeme. Les techniques proposees constituent une alternative aux techniques de model-checking. En effet, elles mettent en œuvre une recherche symbolique vers l’arriere fondee sur des approches complementaires : la preuve et la resolution de contraintes. Ce processus de recherche est entierement automatise grâce a notre outil GenISIS qui a montre, sur la base d’etudes de cas disponibles dans la litterature, sa capacite a retrouver des attaques deja publiees mais aussi des attaques nouvelles.
Correlation analysis of [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose and [18F]fluoroazomycin arabinoside uptake distributions in lung tumours during radiation therapy

Abstract Background: PET-guided dose painting (DP) aims to target radioresistant tumour regions in order to improve radiotherapy (RT) outcome. Besides the well-known [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), the hypoxia positron emission tomography (PET) tracer [18F]fluoroazomycin arabinoside (FAZA) could provide further useful information to guide the radiation dose prescription. In this study, we compare the spatial distributions of FDG and FAZA PET uptakes in lung tumours. Material and methods: Fourteen patients with unresectable lung cancer underwent FDG and FAZA 4D-PET/CT on consecutive days at three time-points: prior to RT (pre), and during the second (w2), and the third (w3) weeks of RT. All PET/CT were reconstructed in their time-averaged midposition (MidP). The metabolic tumour volume (MTV: FDG standardised uptake value (SUV) > 50% SUVmax), and the hypoxic volume (HV: FAZA SUV > 1.4) were delineated within the gross tumour volume (GTVCT). FDG and FAZA intratumoral PET uptake distributions were subsequently pairwise compared, using both volume-, and voxel-based analyses. Results: Volume-based analysis showed large overlap between MTV and HV: median overlapping fraction was 0.90, 0.94 and 0.94, at the pre, w2 and w3 time-points, respectively. Voxel-wise analysis between FDG and FAZA intratumoral PET uptake distributions showed high correlation: median Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was 0.76, 0.77 and 0.76, at the pre, w2 and w3 time-points, respectively. Interestingly, tumours with high FAZA uptake tended to show more similarity between FDG and FAZA intratumoral uptake distributions than those with low FAZA uptake. Conclusions: In unresectable lung carcinomas, FDG and FAZA PET uptake distributions displayed unexpectedly strong similarity, despite the distinct pathways targeted by these tracers. Hypoxia PET with FAZA brought very little added value over FDG from the perspective of DP in this population.