FAMA: An automatic code for stellar parameter and abundance determination

The large amount of spectra obtained during the epoch of extensive spectroscopic surveys of Galactic stars needs the development of automatic procedures to derive their atmospheric parameters and individual element abundances. Starting from the widely-used code MOOG by C. Sneden, we have developed a new procedure to determine atmospheric parameters and abundances in a fully automatic way. The code FAMA (Fast Automatic MOOG Analysis) is presented describing its approach to derive atmospheric stellar parameters and element abundances. The code, freely distributed, is written in Perl and can be used on different platforms. The aim of FAMA is to render the computation of the atmospheric parameters and abundances of a large number of stars using measurements of equivalent widths as automatic and as independent of any subjective approach as possible. It is based on the simultaneous search for three equilibria: excitation equilibrium, ionization balance, and the relationship between \fei\ and the reduced equivalent widths. FAMA also evaluates the statistical errors on individual element abundances and errors due to the uncertainties in the stellar parameters. The convergence criteria are not fixed 'a priori' but are based on the quality of the spectra. In this paper we present tests performed on the Solar spectrum EWs which tests the dependency on the initial parameters, and the analysis of a sample of stars observed in Galactic open and globular clusters.Comment: A&A accepted, 12 pages, 6 figures, 3 table

Recurrent exercise-induced acute renal failure in a young Pakistani man with severe renal hypouricemia and SLC2A9 compound heterozygosity.

BACKGROUND: Familial renal hypouricemia (RHUC) is a hereditary disease characterized by hypouricemia, high renal fractional excretion of uric acid (FE-UA) and can be complicated by acute kidney failure and nephrolithiasis. Loss-of-function mutations in the SLC22A12 gene cause renal hypouricemia type 1 (RHUC1), whereas renal hypouricemia type 2 (RHUC2) is caused by mutations in the SLC2A9 gene. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe a 24-year-old Pakistani man who was admitted twice to our hospital for severe exercise-induced acute renal failure (EIARF), abdominal pain and fever; he had very low serum UA levels (0.2 mg/dl the first time and 0.09 mg/dl the second time) and high FE-UA (200% and 732% respectively), suggestive of RHUC. Mutational analyses of both urate transporters revealed a new compound heterozygosity for two distinct missense mutations in the SLC2A9 gene: p.Arg380Trp, already identified in heterozygosity, and p.Gly216Arg, previously found in homozygosity or compound heterozygosity in some RHUC2 patients. Compared with previously reported patients harbouring these mutations, our proband showed the highest FE-UA levels, suggesting that the combination of p.Arg380Trp and p.Gly216Arg mutations most severely affects the renal handling of UA. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical and molecular findings from this patient and a review of the literature provide new insights into the genotype-phenotype correlation of this disorder, supporting the evidence of an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern for RHUC2. Further investigations into the functional properties of GLUT9, URAT1 and other urate transporters are required to assess their potential research and clinical implications

The Challenge of Diagnosing Atheroembolic Renal Disease

Background— Atheroembolic renal disease (AERD) is caused by showers of cholesterol crystals released by eroded atherosclerotic plaques. Embolization may occur spontaneously or after angiographic/surgical procedures. We sought to determine clinical features and prognostic factors of AERD. Methods and Results— Incident cases of AERD were enrolled at multiple sites and followed up from diagnosis until dialysis and death. Diagnosis was based on clinical suspicion, confirmed by histology or ophthalmoscopy for all spontaneous forms and for most iatrogenic cases. Cox regression was used to model time to dialysis and death as a function of baseline characteristics, AERD presentation (acute/subacute versus chronic renal function decline), and extrarenal manifestations. Three hundred fifty-four subjects were followed up for an average of 2 years. They tended to be male (83%) and elderly (60% >70 years) and to have cardiovascular diseases (90%) and abnormal renal function at baseline (83%). AERD occurred spontaneously in 23.5% of the cases. During the study, 116 patients required dialysis, and 102 died. Baseline comorbidities, ie, reduced renal function, presence of diabetes, history of heart failure, acute/subacute presentation, and gastrointestinal tract involvement, were significant predictors of event occurrence. The risk of dialysis and death was 50% lower among those receiving statins. Conclusions— Clinical features of AERD are identifiable. These make diagnosis possible in most cases. Prognosis is influenced by disease type and severity

Detection of malicious scripting code through discriminant and adversary-aware API analysis

JavaScript and ActionScript are powerful scripting languages that do not only allow the delivery of advanced multimedia contents, but that can be also used to exploit critical vulnerabilities of third-party applications. To detect both ActionScript- and JavaScript-based malware, we propose in this paper a machine-learning methodology that is based on extracting discriminant information from system API methods, attributes and classes. Our strategy exploits the similarities between the two scripting languages, and has been devised by also considering the possibility of targeted attacks that aim to deceive the employed classification algorithms. We tested our method on PDF and SWF data, respectively embedding JavaScript and ActionScript codes. Results show that the proposed strategy allows us to detect most of the tested malicious files, with low false positive rates. Finally, we show that the proposed methodology is also reasonably robust against evasive and targeted attacks

Oncological Outcomes of Segmentectomy versus Lobectomy in Clinical Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer up to Two Centimeters: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective. In recent years, pulmonary segmentectomy has emerged as an alternative to lobectomy for the treatment of patients with clinical stage I non-small cell lung cancer. Considering the conflicting results reported in the literature, the oncological effectiveness of segmentectomy remains controversial. To provide new insight into oncological results, we reviewed the literature, including recent randomized trials. Methods. We performed a systematic review for surgical treatment of stage I NSCLC up to 2 cm using MEDLINE and the Cochrane Database from 1990 to December 2022. Primary outcomes for pooled analysis were overall and disease-free survival; secondary outcomes were postoperative complications and 30-day mortality. Results. Eleven studies were considered for the meta-analysis. The pooled analysis included 3074 and 2278 patients who received lobectomy and segmentectomy, respectively. The estimated pooled hazard ratio showed a similar hazard for segmentectomy compared to lobectomy in terms of overall and disease-free survival. The restricted mean survival time difference between the two procedures was statistically and clinically not significant for overall and disease-free survival. Nevertheless, the overall survival hazard ratio was time-dependent: segmentectomy was at a disadvantage starting from 40 months after surgery. Six papers reported 30-day mortality: there were no events on 1766 procedures. The overall relative risk showed that the postoperative complication rate was higher in segmentectomy compared to lobectomy, without statistical significance. Conclusions. Our results suggest that segmentectomy might be a useful alternative to lobectomy for stage I NSCLC up to 2 cm. However, this appears to be time-dependent; in fact, the risk ratio for overall mortality becomes unfavorable for segmentectomy starting at 40 months after surgery. This last observation, together with some still undefined questions (solid/non-solid ratio, depth of the lesion, modest functional savings, etc.), leave room for further investigations on the real oncological effectiveness of segmentectomy

Diethylene Glycol Poisoning From Transcutaneous Absorption

A case of transcutaneous diethylene glycol poisoning with severe acute kidney injury, but a positive outcome, is described. A man without significant medical history was admitted to our hospital due to anuria, gastrointestinal symptoms, and hypertension. Ultrasonography excluded vascular damage and postrenal obstruction. Laboratory tests showed acute kidney injury and metabolic acidosis with increased anion gap; hemodialysis therapy was started. The brother of the patient reported that the patient had been smearing his skin with brake fluid containing diethylene glycol to treat a “dermatitis.” Only supportive therapy was given due to the lack of a specific antidote. Continuous venovenous hemofiltration was performed. The kidney biopsy showed acute toxic proximal tubulonecrosis, without deposition of oxalate crystals. His neurologic condition worsened dramatically; supportive care was continued. Over time, acute kidney injury and neurologic damage gradually improved; 33 days after admission, he went to a rehabilitation unit for 5 months, with complete clinical recovery. Historically, diethylene glycol has been the cause of large-scale poisonings from ingestion of contaminated drugs. The clinical evolution is unpredictable. Treatment is not well defined; early hemodialysis treatment reduces levels of toxic metabolites, and fomepizole could be useful in cases with an early diagnosis. A comparison of the characteristics of diethylene glycol versus ethylene glycol poisoning is given