A high-throughput screen against pantothenate synthetase (PanC) identifies 3-biphenyl-4-cyanopyrrole-2-carboxylic acids as a new class of inhibitor with activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The enzyme pantothenate synthetase, PanC, is an attractive drug target in Mycobacterium tuberculosis . It is essential for the in vitro growth of M. tuberculosis and for survival of the bacteria in the mouse model of infection. PanC is absent from mammals. We developed an enzyme-based assay to identify inhibitors of PanC, optimized it for high-throughput screening, and tested a large and diverse library of compounds for activity. Two compounds belonging to the same chemical class of 3-biphenyl-4- cyanopyrrole-2-carboxylic acids had activity against the purified recombinant protein, and also inhibited growth of live M. tuberculosis in manner consistent with PanC inhibition. Thus we have identified a new class of PanC inhibitors with whole cell activity that can be further developed

A two-step target binding and selectivity support vector machines approach for virtual screening of dopamine receptor subtype-selective ligands

10.1371/journal.pone.0039076PLoS ONE76

LICSTER -- A Low-cost ICS Security Testbed for Education and Research

Unnoticed by most people, Industrial Control Systems (ICSs) control entire productions and critical infrastructures such as water distribution, smart grid and automotive manufacturing. Due to the ongoing digitalization, these systems are becoming more and more connected in order to enable remote control and monitoring. However, this shift bears significant risks, namely a larger attack surface, which can be exploited by attackers. In order to make these systems more secure, it takes research, which is, however, difficult to conduct on productive systems, since these often have to operate twenty-four-seven. Testbeds are mostly very expensive or based on simulation with no real-world physical process. In this paper, we introduce LICSTER, an open-source low-cost ICS testbed, which enables researchers and students to get hands-on experience with industrial security for about 500 Euro. We provide all necessary material to quickly start ICS hacking, with the focus on low-cost and open-source for education and research

Measurement of coronary bifurcation angle with coronary CT angiography: A phantom study

© 2017 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Purpose: Accurate determination of the bifurcation angle and correlation with plaque buildup may lead to the prediction of coronary artery disease (CAD). This work evaluates two techniques to measure bifurcation angles in 3D space using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). Materials and Methods: Nine phantoms were fabricated with different bifurcation angles ranging from 55.3° to 134.5°. General X-ray and CCTA were employed to acquire 2D and 3D images of the bifurcation phantoms, respectively. Multiplanar reformation (MPR) and volume rendering technique (VRT) were used to measure the bifurcation angle between the left anterior descending (LAD) and left circumflex arteries (LCx). The measured angles were compared with the true values to determine the accuracy of each measurement technique. Inter-observer variability was evaluated. The two techniques were further applied on 50 clinical CCTA cases to verify its clinical value. Results: In the phantom setting, the mean absolute differences calculated between the true and measured angles by MPR and VRT were 2.4°. ±. 2.2° and 3.8°. ±. 2.9°, respectively. Strong correlation was found between the true and measured bifurcation angles. Furthermore, no significant differences were found between the bifurcation angles measured using either technique. In clinical settings, large difference of 12.0°. ±. 10.6° was found between the two techniques. Conclusion: In the phantom setting, both techniques demonstrated a significant correlation to the true bifurcation angle. Despite the lack of agreement of the two techniques in the clinical context, our findings in phantoms suggest that MPR should be preferred to VRT for the measurement of coronary bifurcation angle by CCTA

Analysis of Manufacturing Platforms in the Context of Zero-Defect Process Establishment

The fourth Industrial Revolution sets higher standards for the manufacturing itself and all associated processes. A promising direction in this context is the concept of Zero-Defect Manufacturing (ZDM) aiming at further automatization and optimisation of the production processes to reduce resources and avoid useless elements in the production chains. Moreover, the modern industrial systems are highly complex and require collaboration with other systems for the products’ manufacturing and maintenance. This fact leads to the necessity for the better approaches for design, development, evaluation and assessment of manufacturing systems. The goal of this article is to assess some key European research projects on industrial manufacturing to re use their achievements for design of the ZDM systems. Another goal is to identify the basis for an umbrella platform able to integrate the functionalities of other manufacturing platforms. Thus, interoperability and collaboration issues are also in the scope of this work