Artificial Womb Technology: A Roadmap to a changing Medico-Legal Landscape

Scientists worldwide have tried to replicate birth processes for years, which have resulted in many new infertility solutions like in vitro fertilization (IVF) or surrogacy, but Artificial Womb Technology (AWT) is the most advanced and unique. AWT proposes an alternative to conventional pregnancy and childbirth. Presently, there is no prototype of an artificial womb for people. The innovation is particularly in its early stages. However, we do have to think about the scientific moral, and legal issues before racing into this innovation. We also need to deal with social, religious economic, and health issues. Here in this paper, we have specifically done a critical analysis of the bioethical issues concerning this upcoming technology. A transdisciplinary approach encompassing both the legal and scientific viewpoints, concerns, and suggestions related to this new technology has been discussed. We strongly suggest a worldwide discussion and be ready with a strong framework before we practice AWT, a venture whose outcomes are yet awaited

Algorithmically Generated Visual Knowledge Panels

Information about a particular topic, e.g., in response to a search query, is sometimes presented in a concise user interface (UI) such as a knowledge card or panel. Such panels are typically text intensive and can be unsuitable for certain users, e.g., users that have limited reading capability, or those who prefer visual content. This disclosure describes techniques to render a visual knowledge panel, e.g., one that primarily includes images, videos, and other visual content. Per the techniques, the visual knowledge panel is algorithmically created by mapping a text knowledge panel to existing video or image content such as video Q&A, a short video, a story illustrated by slideshow, etc

A plasma telomeric cell-free DNA level in unaffected women with BRCA1 or/and BRCA2 mutations: a pilot study

Plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is a small DNA fragment circulating in the bloodstream originating from both non-tumor- and tumor-derived cells. A previous study showed that a plasma telomeric cfDNA level decreases in sporadic breast cancer patients compared to controls. Tumor suppressor gene products including BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA1&2) play an important role in telomere maintenance. In this study, we hypothesized that the plasma telomeric cfDNA level is associated with the mutation status of BRCA1&2 genes. To test this hypothesis, we performed plasma telomeric cfDNA quantitative PCR (qPCR)-based assays to compare 28 women carriers of the BRCA1&2 mutation with age-matched controls of 28 healthy women. The results showed that the plasma telomeric cfDNA level was lower in unaffected BRCA1&2 mutation carriers than in age-matched controls from non-obese women (BMI 30). Moreover, the plasma telomeric cfDNA level applied aptly to the Tyrer-Cuzick model in non-obese women. These findings suggest that circulating cfDNA may detect dysfunctional telomeres derived from cells with BRCA1&2 mutations and, therefore, its level is associated with breast cancer susceptibility. This pilot study warrants further investigation to elucidate the implication of plasma telomeric cfDNA levels in relation to cancer and obesity

Investigation of hospital discharge cases and SARS-CoV-2 introduction into Lothian care homes

Background The first epidemic wave of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Scotland resulted in high case numbers and mortality in care homes. In Lothian, over one-third of care homes reported an outbreak, while there was limited testing of hospital patients discharged to care homes. Aim To investigate patients discharged from hospitals as a source of SARS-CoV-2 introduction into care homes during the first epidemic wave. Methods A clinical review was performed for all patients discharges from hospitals to care homes from 1st March 2020 to 31st May 2020. Episodes were ruled out based on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test history, clinical assessment at discharge, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data and an infectious period of 14 days. Clinical samples were processed for WGS, and consensus genomes generated were used for analysis using Cluster Investigation and Virus Epidemiological Tool software. Patient timelines were obtained using electronic hospital records. Findings In total, 787 patients discharged from hospitals to care homes were identified. Of these, 776 (99%) were ruled out for subsequent introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into care homes. However, for 10 episodes, the results were inconclusive as there was low genomic diversity in consensus genomes or no sequencing data were available. Only one discharge episode had a genomic, time and location link to positive cases during hospital admission, leading to 10 positive cases in their care home. Conclusion The majority of patients discharged from hospitals were ruled out for introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into care homes, highlighting the importance of screening all new admissions when faced with a novel emerging virus and no available vaccine

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron is an immune escape variant with an altered cell entry pathway

Vaccines based on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 are a cornerstone of the public health response to COVID-19. The emergence of hypermutated, increasingly transmissible variants of concern (VOCs) threaten this strategy. Omicron (B.1.1.529), the fifth VOC to be described, harbours multiple amino acid mutations in spike, half of which lie within the receptor-binding domain. Here we demonstrate substantial evasion of neutralization by Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants in vitro using sera from individuals vaccinated with ChAdOx1, BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273. These data were mirrored by a substantial reduction in real-world vaccine effectiveness that was partially restored by booster vaccination. The Omicron variants BA.1 and BA.2 did not induce cell syncytia in vitro and favoured a TMPRSS2-independent endosomal entry pathway, these phenotypes mapping to distinct regions of the spike protein. Impaired cell fusion was determined by the receptor-binding domain, while endosomal entry mapped to the S2 domain. Such marked changes in antigenicity and replicative biology may underlie the rapid global spread and altered pathogenicity of the Omicron variant

A mathematical modeling technique to understand the role of decoy receptors in ligand-receptor interaction

Abstract The ligand-receptor interaction is fundamental to many cellular processes in eukaryotic cells such as cell migration, proliferation, adhesion, signaling and so on. Cell migration is a central process in the development of organisms. Receptor induced chemo-tactic sensitivity plays an important role in cell migration. However, recently some receptors identified as decoy receptors, obstruct some mechanisms of certain regular receptors. DcR3 is one such important decoy receptor, generally found in glioma cell, RCC cell and many various malignant cells which obstruct some mechanism including apoptosis cell-signaling, cell inflammation, cell migration. The goal of our work is to mathematically formulate ligand-receptor interaction induced cell migration in the presence of decoy receptors. We develop here a novel mathematical model, consisting of four coupled partial differential equations which predict the movement of glioma cells due to the reaction-kinetic mechanism between regular receptors CD95, its ligand CD95L and decoy receptors DcR3 as obtained in experimental results. The aim is to measure the number of cells in the chamber’s filter for different concentrations of ligand in presence of decoy receptors and compute the distance travelled by the cells inside filter due to cell migration. Using experimental results, we validate our model which suggests that the concentration of ligands plays an important role in cell migration

Impact of the national targeted Hepatitis A immunisation program in Australia: 2000-2014

In November 2005, hepatitis A vaccine was funded under the Australian National Immunisation Program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) children aged 12–24 months in the targeted jurisdictions of Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. We reviewed the epidemiology of hepatitis A from 2000 to 2014 using data from the Australian National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, the National Hospital Morbidity Database, and Australian Bureau of Statistics causes-of-death data. The impact of the national hepatitis A immunisation program was assessed by comparison of pre-vaccine (2000–2005) and post-vaccine time periods (2006–2014), by age group, Indigenous status and jurisdiction using incidence rate ratios (IRR) per 100,000 population and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The national pre-vaccine notification rate in Indigenous people was four times higher than the non-Indigenous rate, and declined from 8.41 per 100,000 (95% CI 5.03–11.79) pre-vaccine to 0.85 per 100,000 (95% CI 0.00–1.99) post-vaccine, becoming similar to the non-Indigenous rate. Notification and hospitalisation rates in Indigenous children aged <5 years from targeted jurisdictions declined in the post-vaccine period when compared to the pre-vaccine period (notifications: IRR = 0.07; 95% CI 0.04–0.13; hospitalisations: IRR = 0.04; 95% CI 0.01–0.16). As did notification rates in Indigenous people aged 5–19 (IRR = 0.08; 95% CI 0.05–0.13) and 20–49 years (IRR = 0.06; 95% CI 0.02–0.15) in targeted jurisdictions. For non-Indigenous people from targeted jurisdictions, notification rates decreased significantly in children aged <5 years (IRR 0.47; 95% CI 0.31–0.71), and significantly more overall (IRR = 0.43; 95% CI 0.39–0.47) compared to non-Indigenous people from non-targeted jurisdictions (IRR = 0.60; 95% CI 0.56–0.64). The national hepatitis A immunisation program has had a significant impact in the targeted population with relatively modest vaccine coverage, with evidence suggestive of substantial herd protection effects. Keywords Indigenous; Vaccination; Targeted; Epidemiology; Notification; Hepatitis AThis work was supported by the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance. CT is a scholar in the Master of Philosophy in Applied Epidemiology, Australian National University