Late gadolinium enhancement in Brugada syndrome: A marker for subtle underlying cardiomyopathy?

BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that the Brugada ECG pattern is a marker of subtle structural heart disease. OBJECTIVE: We characterised Brugada syndrome (BrS) patients using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) with late gadolinium enhancement (LGE). METHODS: BrS was diagnosed according to international guidelines. 26% BrS patients carried SCN5A mutations. CMR data from 78 BrS patients were compared with 78 healthy controls (44±15 vs 42±14 years; p=0.434 and 64% vs 64% male; p=1.000). RESULTS: Right ventricular (RV) ejection fraction was slightly lower (61±8% vs 64±5%; p=0.004) and RV end-systolic volume slightly greater (31±10mL/m(2) vs 28±6mL/m(2); p=0.038) in BrS compared with controls. These values remained within the normal range. LGE was demonstrated in 8% BrS patients (left ventricular (LV) midwall LGE in 5%) but not in controls (p=0.028). In BrS patients with midwall LGE there were no other features of cardiomyopathy at the time of CMR but genetic testing and follow-up has revealed a desmoplakin mutation in one patient and evolution of T-wave inversion throughout all precordial ECG leads in another. Neither patient fulfils diagnostic criteria for arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. CONCLUSION: Some BrS patients have LV midwall LGE consistent with an underlying cardiomyopathic process. Even cases without LGE show greater RV volumes and reduced RV function. These findings lend further support to the presence of subtle structural abnormalities in BrS. The BrS pattern with LGE may serve as early markers for evolution of a cardiomyopathic phenotype over time. CMR is a potentially useful adjunct investigation in the clinical evaluation of BrS

The study of atmospheric ice-nucleating particles via microfluidically generated droplets

Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) play a significant role in the climate and hydrological cycle by triggering ice formation in supercooled clouds, thereby causing precipitation and affecting cloud lifetimes and their radiative properties. However, despite their importance, INP often comprise only 1 in 10³–10⁶ ambient particles, making it difficult to ascertain and predict their type, source, and concentration. The typical techniques for quantifying INP concentrations tend to be highly labour-intensive, suffer from poor time resolution, or are limited in sensitivity to low concentrations. Here, we present the application of microfluidic devices to the study of atmospheric INPs via the simple and rapid production of monodisperse droplets and their subsequent freezing on a cold stage. This device offers the potential for the testing of INP concentrations in aqueous samples with high sensitivity and high counting statistics. Various INPs were tested for validation of the platform, including mineral dust and biological species, with results compared to literature values. We also describe a methodology for sampling atmospheric aerosol in a manner that minimises sampling biases and which is compatible with the microfluidic device. We present results for INP concentrations in air sampled during two field campaigns: (1) from a rural location in the UK and (2) during the UK’s annual Bonfire Night festival. These initial results will provide a route for deployment of the microfluidic platform for the study and quantification of INPs in upcoming field campaigns around the globe, while providing a benchmark for future lab-on-a-chip-based INP studies

Experimental investigation of the uncertainty principle in the presence of quantum memory

Heisenberg's uncertainty principle provides a fundamental limitation on an observer's ability to simultaneously predict the outcome when one of two measurements is performed on a quantum system. However, if the observer has access to a particle (stored in a quantum memory) which is entangled with the system, his uncertainty is generally reduced. This effect has recently been quantified by Berta et al. [Nature Physics 6, 659 (2010)] in a new, more general uncertainty relation, formulated in terms of entropies. Using entangled photon pairs, an optical delay line serving as a quantum memory and fast, active feed-forward we experimentally probe the validity of this new relation. The behaviour we find agrees with the predictions of quantum theory and satisfies the new uncertainty relation. In particular, we find lower uncertainties about the measurement outcomes than would be possible without the entangled particle. This shows not only that the reduction in uncertainty enabled by entanglement can be significant in practice, but also demonstrates the use of the inequality to witness entanglement.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, comments welcom

Stromal cells in tertiary lymphoid structures:Architects of autoimmunity

The molecular mediators present within the inflammatory microenvironment are able, in certain conditions, to favor the initiation of tertiary lymphoid structure (TLS) development. TLS is organized lymphocyte clusters able to support antigen-specific immune response in non-immune organs. Importantly, chronic inflammation does not always result in TLS formation; instead, TLS has been observed to develop specifically in permissive organs, suggesting the presence of tissue-specific cues that are able to imprint the immune responses and form TLS hubs. Fibroblasts are tissue-resident cells that define the anatomy and function of a specific tissue. Fibroblast plasticity and specialization in inflammatory conditions have recently been unraveled in both immune and non-immune organs revealing a critical role for these structural cells in human physiology. Here, we describe the role of fibroblasts in the context of TLS formation and its functional maintenance in the tissue, highlighting their potential role as therapeutic disease targets in TLS-associated diseases.</p